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Historic Sites Commemorate 140th Anniversary of
Joint Annual Meeting an Occasion for Awards and Lectures
On Friday, October 27, members of the North Carolina Literary and Historical Associ-ation
( NCLHA) and the Federation of North Carolina Historical Societies ( FNCHS) held
their annual meeting at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh. In a departure
from custom, the session began with a joint meeting with the members of the Carolina
Charter Corporation. The opening speaker was David G. Moore, archaeologist and
professor at Warren Wilson College, formerly with the Western Office of Archives and
History, who described his ongoing investigation of the Burke County site of Fort San Juan,
Carolina
Comments
VOLUME 55, NUMBER 1 JANUARY 2007
Published Quarterly by the North Carolina Office of Archives and History
Laurence Avery ( right), professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
accepts the R. Hunt Parker Memorial Award from Jinnie Y. Davis ( left). Earlier in the evening of
October 27, Avery delivered the keynote address to the joint annual meeting of NCLHA and
FNCHS. All images by the Office of Archives and History.
associated with Spanish explorers of the 1560s. Subsequent lectures during the afternoon
and evening dealt with William R. Davie, slavery at the University of North Carolina,
and Paul Green. Following tradition, the evening program culminated with the North
Carolina Book Awards for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and juvenile literature, and
certificates for the year’s best historical organizations.
Kevin Cherry, chairman of the FNCHS, welcomed attendees. The first order of busi-ness
was the presentation by John Batchelor of Greensboro of the 2006 Student Publica-tion
Awards. First place in the high school division of the literary magazine competition
went to W. G. Enloe High School of Raleigh for Stone Soup. Providence High School of
2 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
For the Record
Historical discoveries often are serendipitous. When
Daniel Stowell and Kelly Boston, editors of the Abraham
Lincoln papers, visited the North Carolina State Archives
in October 2006, they examined various collections in
hopes of finding heretofore unknown Lincoln docu-ments.
The State Archives held at least one document
with Lincoln’s signature. The Lincoln editors found
another. In the Governor John W. Ellis papers the editors
discovered a letter to the governor dated March 16, 1861,
and signed by Lincoln as well as by Secretary of State William
Henry Seward. It accompanied a proposed Thirteenth Amendment
to the Constitution. The so- called “ Ghost Amendment” would have prohibited
Congress from interfering or abolishing slavery in any state where it already existed.
Ironically, the Thirteenth Amendment that finally passed in 1865 abolished slavery.
The proposed amendment came at a critical point in the long secession winter
between Lincoln’s election in November 1860 and the firing on Fort Sumter in April
1861. Seven states had already seceded by the time of Lincoln’s inauguration on
March 4. Various efforts to find a compromise by moderates north and south had
failed. The proposed amendment was yet another attempt to hold the Upper South
in the Union and to prevent war. Interestingly, the proposed amendment was not
inconsistent with Lincoln’s position and that of the Republican Party. Abolition of
slavery would not become a war aim until the fall of 1862, when Lincoln issued a
preliminary draft of the Emancipation Proclamation.
The editors of the Lincoln papers stated that they have found only four other cop-ies
of Lincoln’s letter with the proposed Thirteenth Amendment. As is so often the
case, some researchers and archivists knew of the document in the Ellis papers. No
one, however, realized how rare it was. On October 25, appropriately during
Archives Week, the State Archives mounted an exhibit of several highly significant
documents in its collection, including the Lincoln letter and the proposed
amendment.
Coming on the cusp of the Civil War, the amendment never had a chance of pas-sage
by three- fourths of the states, although Ohio and Maryland ratified it in 1861
and 1862, respectively. With the firing on Fort Sumter and Lincoln’s call for troops,
Governor Ellis responded emphatically in a way that ensured the fate of both his state
and the amendment: “ You can get no troops from North Carolina.”
Jeffrey J. Crow
Charlotte received second place for its publication, Roars and Whispers. Third place was
awarded to Northern Vance High School of Henderson for Crinkum- Crankum, and hon-orable
mention went to Myers Park High School of Charlotte for The Pegasus. The win-ner
in the middle school division was Christ Covenant School of Winterville for Soli Deo
Gloria. Second place went to Seventy- First Classical Middle School of Fayetteville for The
Classical Quill and third place to LeRoy Martin Middle School of Raleigh for Illusions.
On behalf of the Historical Society of North Carolina, Michael Hill, the organization’s
treasurer, presented the R. D. W. Connor Award in recognition of the best article to
appear in the North Carolina Historical Review during the preceding year. The winner was
Michelle LeMaster of Lehigh University for “ In the ‘ Scolding Houses’: Indians and the
Law in North Carolina, 1684- 1760,” which appeared in the April 2006 issue of the
Review. The winner of the 2006 Hugh T. Lefler Award for the best paper written by an
undergraduate student was Robert Dawson, formerly of Wingate University ( and now
residing in England), for his paper on “ POWs, African Americans, and Southern Identities
during the Second World War.” Both awards were presented in absentia as neither
recipient was able to attend.
The American Association of University Women ( AAUW) Award for Juvenile Litera-ture,
presented annually since 1953, went to Joyce Moyer Hostetter of Newton for her
book, Blue ( Boyds Mill Press, 2006), the fictional account of a young girl set in the midst
of a real- life polio outbreak
in the western Piedmont.
The award was presented by
Nancy Shoemaker of
Raleigh, president of the
North Carolina Chapter of
the AAUW.
Jeffrey J. Crow, deputy
secretary of the Office of
Archives and History, pre-sented
an American Associa-tion
for State and Local
History ( AASLH) Award of
Merit to Wilbur D. Jones Jr.
of Wilmington for his efforts
to preserve the history of
World War II in the Cape
Fear area. Louise Bailey
Howe of Hendersonville was
also honored with an individ-ual
achievement award for
her many publications on
local history. She was unable
to attend the ceremony. Two
Charlotte museums received in absentia institutional Awards of Merit from the AASLH
for outstanding exhibits: the Charlotte Museum of History, for Solving the Rock House Mys-teries;
and the Levine Museum of the New South, for Purses, Platforms, and Power.
In the second of three afternoon presentations, Harry Watson, professor of history at
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, addressed “ William Richardson Davie
and the University of the People: Ironies and Paradoxes.” After a break, Janis Holder,
V O L U M E 5 5 , N U M B E R 1 , J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 3
Nancy Shoemaker ( right), president of the North Carolina
chapter of the American Association of University Women,
presents the AAUW Award for Juvenile Literature to Joyce
Moyer Hostetter ( left), author of Blue.
university archivist at
the same institution,
discussed “ Turning the
Corner in Search of
Our Past: Slavery and
the Making of the Uni-versity
of North
Carolina.” Both speak-ers
examined the legacy
of slavery at the univer-sity,
in the contexts of
its founding and con-struction.
The after-noon
lectures were
followed by a brief busi-ness
meeting of the
NCLHA, presided over
by association president
Robert G. Anthony Jr.,
curator of the North
Carolina Collection at
Chapel Hill.
In advance of the evening session, a luncheon hosted by Elizabeth F. ( Betsy) Buford,
director of the Division of State History Museums, honored Jo Ann Williford for her lead-ership
of FNCHS, now in its thirtieth year. After a social hour and dinner, Robert
Anthony welcomed the approximately seventy- five guests to the auditorium of the Museum
of History. The fourth annual Keats and Liz Sparrow Keynote Address was delivered by
Laurence Avery, professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In
his talk, titled “ Paul Green’s Legacy,” Avery memorialized the longtime champion of social
justice and civil rights and related Green’s work to the ongoing effort to construct the North
Carolina Freedom Monument. Green himself was president of the NCLHA in 1942- 1943.
The year 2006 marked the twenty- fifth anniversary of his death in 1981.
Award presentations resumed after the keynote address, beginning with the announce-ment
by Kevin Cherry of the Albert Ray Newsome Awards, bestowed annually by the
FNCHS to the historical organizations in North Carolina judged to have conducted the
most comprehensive and outstanding programs in local or community historical activity
during the previous year. Among the winners was the Cashiers Historical Association for
the restoration of the Zachary Tolbert House and sponsorship of an annual symposium,
among a range of other activities. Accepting for the association was Jan Wyatt of Cashiers.
A second Newsome Award was given to the Lower Cape Fear Historical Society for its
half- century of service to promote and preserve the history of the region. Marjorie Way of
Wilmington, a member of the board of directors of the society, accepted the award.
Rebecca Godwin presented the Roanoke- Chowan Award for Poetry to James
Applewhite of Duke University for his Selected Poems ( Duke University Press, 2005).
Applewhite was a previous winner of the award in 1981, 1986, and 1993. Pat Sevier of
the Historical Book Club of Greensboro announced that the winner of the Sir Walter
Raleigh Award for Fiction was Ron Rash of Cullowhee for his novel, The World Made
Straight ( Henry Holt Books, 2006). Accepting on his behalf was Jan Wyatt of Cashiers.
The novel concerns a modern- day teenage boy and the revelations he uncovered in the
4 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
Wilbur D. Jones Jr. ( right), author of two books about home- front
Wilmington during World War II, accepts an AASLH Award of
Merit from Jeffrey J. Crow ( left).
course of an investigation of an incident in western North Carolina during the Civil War
known as the Shelton Laurel Massacre.
Robert Anthony
announced the winner of
the third annual Ragan Old
North State Award for the
year’s best work of nonfic-tion,
regardless of topic, by a
North Carolina author. Tak-ing
the honor was Clyde
Edgerton of Wilmington for
Solo: My Adventures in the Air
( Algonquin Books of Chapel
Hill, 2005). In accepting the
award, Edgerton briefly
addressed the group on the
joys of writing. A previous
winner of the Sir Walter
Raleigh Award for Fiction,
he became only the third
writer ( after John Ehle and
Tim McLaurin) to win both
the association’s fiction and
nonfiction awards. More
about the North Carolina
Book Awards may be found at
http:// www. ah. dcr. state. nc. us/ affiliates/ lit- hist/ awards/ awards. htm.
The R. Hunt Parker Memorial Award, bestowed annually by the NCLHA for signifi-cant
lifetime contributions to the literary heritage of North Carolina, went to Laurence
Avery, the evening’s keynote speaker. Jinnie Y. Davis of Cary made the presentation. The
award honors Parker, former chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, who had
an avid interest in literature and North Carolina history.
V O L U M E 5 5 , N U M B E R 1 , J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 5
For the fourth time in
twenty- five years, James
Applewhite ( left) receives
the Roanoke- Chowan
Award for Poetry at the
North Carolina Book
Awards ceremony.
Rebecca Godwin ( right)
makes the presentation at
the North Carolina
Museum of History.
Clyde Edgerton ( right) became only the third writer to win both
the fiction and nonfiction awards from NCLHA. Association
president Robert G. Anthony Jr. ( left) presents the 2006 Sir
Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction to Edgerton.
In the final ceremony of the evening, Jerry C. Cashion, chairman of the North
Carolina Historical Commission, presented the Christopher Crittenden Memorial Award
to the University of North Carolina Press, in recognition of its long- standing tradition of
publishing works on North Carolina history. The timing, it was noted, was appropriate, as
early copies of the long- awaited Encyclopedia of North Carolina, the culmination of years of
work by editor William S. Powell and the press staff, had arrived at the Museum of His-tory
bookstore that very afternoon. Accepting on behalf of UNC Press were editors David
Perry and Kate Torrey. The award, presented annually since 1970, recognizes lifetime
contributions to the preservation of North Carolina history and honors Crittenden, direc-tor
of the Department of Archives and History from 1935 to 1968.
Successful Dive Marks Ten- Year Anniversary of QAR Discovery
At the approach of the ten- year anniversary of the discovery of shipwreck site
31CR314, believed to be that of Blackbeard’s flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge ( QAR),
all of the components are finally in place to begin a major excavation designed to fully
document, recover, transport, catalogue, and store the entire assemblage of artifacts and
the information it contains. Those necessary components consist of a thorough under-standing
of the shipwreck and its condition, a long- term state appropriation to support a
professional project staff, a fully equipped conservation facility, and major funding with
which to get started. The first leg of fieldwork was carried out from October 2 to Novem-ber
8. The work was greatly enhanced by the return of experienced project archaeologists
from the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the Office of State Archaeology and the
North Carolina Maritime Museum at Beaufort. They were joined by several very talented
new members: John Masters, Anne Corscaden, Steve Lambert, and Franklin Price. The
five- and- a- half- week expedition would not have been possible without the support of the
North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, which provided the use of a research vessel;
the U. S. Coast Guard facility at Fort Macon, which offered vessel berthing and operations
staging; East Carolina University, site of the project conservation facility, which also fur-nished
vessel support and graduate student assistants; Fort Macon State Park and the Com-fort
Inn at Morehead City, sources of housing; the North Carolina Maritime Museum at
Beaufort and Intersal, Inc., providers of public communications; and Olympus Dive
Center and Discovery Dive, Inc., for dive services.
6 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
On behalf of the staff of the University of North Carolina Press, editors David Perry ( left) and Kate
Torrey ( right) accept the Christopher Crittenden Memorial Award from Jerry C. Cashion ( center),
chairman of the North Carolina Historical Commission.
The team completed full excavation and recovery of sixty- eight 5- by- 5- foot units,
located at the offshore side of the shipwreck, beginning at the vessel’s stern and proceeding
toward the center of the site. This area, where the captain’s cabin and the ship’s armory
were located, was expected to provide a rich assemblage of artifacts, and the divers were
not disappointed. By the end of the project, tens of thousands of artifacts, mostly lead shot
of all sizes, had been recovered. Among the more exciting finds were buckles from shoes
and possibly from a bandolier, a belt for carrying weapons, worn across the shoulder; a
small bronze cannon that may have been a signal gun; pieces of a silver spoon; a mechani-cal
jack; a brass rooster finial; and a fair amount of gold dust. Many more artifacts are
encased in concretion and have yet to reveal their identity, which will be determined in
the coming months through x- radiography and cleaning. Of what was immediately
recognizable, though, perhaps the most exciting find was a brass coin weight used to
authenticate gold coins. This stunning piece features the well- preserved bust of Queen
Anne ( 1702- 1714) and thus ties the shipwreck directly to her namesake.
All of the recovered arti-facts
were taken to the
QAR conservation lab at
East Carolina University,
where they will enter a
lengthy period of cleaning,
conservation, and analysis
before returning to Beaufort
for display at the North
Carolina Maritime
Museum. With storms con-tinually
affecting the
exposed remains at the
QAR site, the project team
plans to return in the spring
to continue full recovery
operations. If funding
allows, complete recovery
should take three to four
years, followed by a decade
or more of conservation.
Popular interest continues at a high level as the Department of Cultural Resources leads
the exploration of what are likely to be the only physical remains tied directly to the inter-nationally
recognized pirate, Edward Teach, alias Blackbeard. For more information, visit
the project website at www. qaronline. org.
Tryon Palace Acquires Valuable Civil War Objects
The palace has recently made three significant additions to its growing collection of
Civil War- era artifacts, two of them acquired from the private collection of noted North
Carolina artist Bob Timberlake. These items include a rare Confederate infantry drum, a
briar pipe, and a portrait of a young cavalry officer from Craven County.
Constructed in 1861 by Edwin Clayton, a cabinetmaker working in Asheville, the
drum body was made of thin layers of wood glued and then rolled around a form to give
them shape. The overlapping pieces of wood were then attached with parallel rows of
tacks, with a reinforced decorative tack circle in between. The body of the drum was
painted a deep rich red, and the top and bottom hoops that secure the heads were painted
V O L U M E 5 5 , N U M B E R 1 , J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 7
Images from the recent excavation of the shipwreck believed to be
the Queen Anne’s Revenge ( clockwise from upper left): a diver loads
artifacts into a recovery basket; a piece of a red earthenware oil jar
rim attached to a concretion; part of a blue ironstone plate that
washed into the site during a storm; and a copper tube of
unknown usage.
blue to signify that it was an infantry
drum. On the side of the drum the
words, “ The Old North State,”
encircle a five- pointed star. The
upper or batter head is made of
cowhide secured with two wooden
hoops, and the lower or snare head,
also held in place by a pair of hoops,
is made of sheepskin. A series of six
to eight gut strings was pulled
tightly against the snare head to ren-der
the characteristic resonance of a
snare drum.
Apart from the unusual construc-tion
methods used to fabricate this
instrument are several intriguing
inscriptions found on the drumheads
and on the inside walls of the drum.
On the bottom head is written in a
clear hand, “ Captured at the battle
of Newbern N. C. March 14 1862,
21st Mass Vols.” The movements of the 21st Massachusetts Regiment during the Battle of
New Bern have been clearly delineated, so one can almost visualize the drum being
wrenched from the hands of a young Confederate drummer in the heat of battle as the
Union army advanced on New Bern.
As for the captor of the drum, palace researchers have developed a clear understanding
of his likely identity by examining another set of inscriptions. On the inside bottom head
is inscribed, “ L. L. Lamb/ Fichburg Mass.” and the letters “ L. L. L.” in a serrated cartouche.
Research into the 1860 census records for Worcester County, Massachusetts, reveals a
twenty- one- year- old L. Lamb working as a mechanic in the town of Fitchburg. Military
service records in the National Archives list a Pvt. Levi L. Lamb in Company D of the
21st Massachusetts Infantry.
Additional war records show that Levi L. Lamb, musician, was discharged in Akron,
Ohio, after serving two years, ten months, and seven days in the 21st and 36th regiments
of Massachusetts Volunteers. The 1880 census records of Crawford County, Pennsylvania,
indicate that Levi L. Lamb was living in that county with his mother Hannah, wife Jane,
and sons Harvey and Osborn. Unfortunately, later court records from Crawford County
reveal a Levi L. Lamb certified as a “ habitual drunkard.”
When the drum became available through auction of the collection of North Carolina
artist Bob Timberlake at Brunk Auctions of Asheville, Tryon Palace staff members began
work to authenticate the instrument and its provenance. At the same time, Tryon Palace
Commission members began the process of securing the necessary funds to purchase the
drum. After the auctioneer’s hammer fell to conclude successful bidding by the palace rep-resentative,
auctioneer Robert Brunk announced that the drum had been purchased by
Tryon Palace and would be returning to New Bern. There was a spontaneous round of
applause from the approximately three to four hundred attendees, all pleased that the drum
would become part of North Carolina’s public history.
Another recent addition to the palace’s Civil War collection is a hand- carved pipe bowl
with high relief carvings of flowers and vines. What attracted the Palace’s attention were
8 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
This 1861 Confederate infantry drum, constructed in
Asheville and captured by a Federal soldier at the Battle
of New Bern, was purchased at auction by Tryon Palace
Historic Sites & Gardens from the collection of artist Bob
Timberlake.
inscriptions carved on the bowl—“ New Berne” on the front and “ 1864” above the stem
hole on the back. The pipe bowl is also from Bob Timberlake’s vast collection of Civil
War memorabilia.
The third Civil War- era object is a small, bust- length likeness of a young Confederate
officer. The portrait, identified as George Stanley Dewey of Craven County, is an oil- on-paper
( rather than the traditional oil- on- canvas) mounted in a shadow- box frame. The
portrait descended in the Dewey and London families through George Dewey’s sister,
Emily Hall ( Dewey) Claypoole, to Dewey London and Lawrence F. London Sr.
Born in New Bern on September 20, 1841, George Stanley Dewey was the fourth
child and eldest son of Oliver Stanley Dewey and Matilda ( Sparrow) Dewey. Little is
known of young Dewey’s early years. He was a member of the Yale College class of 1863
but left Yale in 1861 to enlist in the North Carolina cavalry. His choice of Yale over one
of the North Carolina colleges probably reflects the fact that his paternal grandmother,
Mary Judd Stanley, and her family were longtime residents of central Connecticut.
On June 29, 1861, nineteen- year- old George Dewey enlisted in the company of
volunteers from Goldsboro and Wayne County that would become Company H of the
First North Carolina Cavalry ( Ninth Regiment North Carolina State Troops). By early
August, the company moved to Camp Beauregard in Warren County, the regular school
of cavalry instruction, where the regiment was organized. Dewey began his military career
as a private, but was promoted to first lieutenant in January 1864 and to captain in August,
a rank he held until his death.
Several of Dewey’s letters to his family are preserved in the Southern Historical
Collection in the Manuscripts Department of Wilson Library at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. Writing to his mother and his sister, Emily Hall Dewey
( 1845- 1930), Dewey described his life as a soldier, including regimental movements and
skirmishes. He also described his feelings concerning the progress of the war; despite
Confederate setbacks, Dewey remained optimistic.
George Stanley Dewey died on the battlefield of Chamberlain’s Run near Dinwiddie
Court House, Virginia, on March 31, 1865, just ten days before the Confederate surrender
at Appomattox. He was one of the last Craven County soldiers killed in action in the
Civil War.
State Archives Acquires Letter to Governor- elect Vance
The North Carolina State Archives has obtained a letter written to Zebulon B. Vance
within days of his election as governor, congratulating him on his victory at the polls and
recommending a mutual friend to an important public office. The author of the August 10,
1862, letter was Sgt. C. G. Davenport of Company F, Eleventh North Carolina Troops
( which he refers to as the “ Special Bethel” regiment), then stationed at Camp Lamb near
Wilmington. Davenport was a resident of Chowan County, where he had enlisted in state
service in February, at the age of thirty- one. As he indicated in his letter to Vance, he had
been a Whig editor in New Bern and Edenton before the war, sharing the political senti-ments
of the governor- elect.
Davenport wrote on behalf of Dr. EdwardWarren ( 1828- 1893), the son of Dr. William C.
Warren of Edenton. The younger Warren was well educated, having studied at Fairfax
Institute near Alexandria, Virginia, the University of Virginia, Jefferson Medical College in
Philadelphia, and in Paris. He returned to Edenton in 1855 to practice medicine with his
father. Two years later, he became the first editor of the Medical Journal of North Carolina.
V O L U M E 5 5 , N U M B E R 1 , J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 9
When the war broke out, Dr. Warren was a member of the faculty of the University of
Maryland in Baltimore, but he resigned his position and returned to his native state.
In March 1862, Col. Zebulon Vance led his Twenty- sixth North Carolina Regiment
into its trial by fire at the Battle of New Bern. Dr. Warren was then on duty in Goldsboro
with the State Board of Medical Examiners, but volunteered for military service in the
emergency that followed the Confederate retreat from New Bern. Vance and Warren
became acquainted and were soon fast friends. So when Sergeant Davenport recom-mended
to the newly elected governor
his friend Dr. Warren for the post of
surgeon general of North Carolina, it
likely confirmed a thought already taking
shape in Vance’s mind; at the very least,
the suggestion was a seed that found fer-tile
soil. In any event, the appointment
was made on September 13.
The Davenport letter was advertised
for sale on e- Bay, where it attracted the
attention of Charlene Cook of Raleigh.
Ms. Cook contacted James Sorrell, head
of the Special Collections Branch of the
Archives and Records Section, who noti-fied
State Archivist Dick Lankford.
Because the letter was written and
received before Vance assumed the office
of governor, the Archives could not claim
it as a public record. But all agreed that
the historical significance of the docu-ment
merited its acquisition, if possible.
The Friends of the Archives, the support
group of the State Archives, provided the
necessary funds to purchase the letter.
Highway Historical Marker Commemorates Leonard Medical School
On October 11, Shaw University in Raleigh hosted a dedication ceremony for a North
Carolina highway historical marker about Leonard Medical School, once a part of Shaw.
Leonard Medical School opened in 1882 with a thirty- four- room dormitory and a class-room
building. While four medical schools for African Americans predated it, Leonard
was the first in the United States to offer a four- year graded curriculum of the sort used
today. Before closing its doors in 1918 because of financial difficulties, the school trained
four hundred African American physicians.
The ceremony began with a convocation in the Thomas J. Boyd Chapel with Shaw’s
president, Dr. Clarence G. Newsome, officiating. Following the service, Lisbeth Evans,
secretary of the Department of Cultural Resources, and deputy secretaries Jeffrey Crow
and Staci Meyer joined seven other departmental employees in a walk to the Leonard
Medical School classroom building, accompanied by festive music provided by the Shaw
University marching band. Dr. Todd Savitt, professor of medical history at East Carolina
University, presented a slide show about the school on the third floor of the restored
Leonard Hall. Secretary Evans and Michael Hill, supervisor of the Research Branch,
addressed the crowd before the marker was unveiled by a descendant of the founder of the
1 0 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
The first page of a three- page letter to
Governor- elect Zebulon B. Vance that was
recently obtained by the North Carolina State
Archives.
medical school. The marker stands in front of Leonard Hall on Wilmington Street, just
north of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in downtown Raleigh.
State Archivist Dick Lankford Receives Thornton W. Mitchell Award
On October 13, at the fall meeting of the
Society of North Carolina Archivists in Char-lotte,
Jesse R. ( Dick) Lankford was presented the
Thornton W. Mitchell Service Award by
Jeffrey J. Crow, deputy secretary of the Office of
Archives and History. Established in 2003, the
award recognizes “ an individual who has dem-onstrated
outstanding service to the archival pro-fession
in the state of North Carolina by
promoting public awareness, appreciation, or
support of cultural heritage institutions, preserv-ing
historical and cultural resources, providing
leadership in archival organizations or associa-tions,
or teaching, training, or mentoring new
members of the archival profession.” Lankford
has worked in the archival profession for
thirty- seven years, serving as a records analyst in
South Carolina, and as the iconographic archi-vist,
assistant state archivist, and currently state
archivist and records administrator at the North
Carolina State Archives. He has taught public
history at North Carolina State University for
more than twenty years, mentoring numerous
public historians. For the third recipient of this award, named in honor of a previous state
archivist of North Carolina, the society could not have selected anyone more deserving
than Dick Lankford.
V O L U M E 5 5 , N U M B E R 1 , J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 1 1
This highway historical
marker in front of restored
Leonard Hall in downtown
Raleigh was unveiled and
dedicated at a ceremony on
October 11.
State archivist and records administrator
Jesse R. ( Dick) Lankford ( right) accepts the
Society of North Carolina Archivists’
Thornton W. Mitchell Service Award
from Jeffrey J. Crow ( left).
Museum of the Albemarle to Host Civil War Symposium
On February 9 and 10, scholars from across the southeast and the mid- Atlantic states
will gather at the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City to discuss the often- over-looked
Burnside Expedition of 1862. Dr. Richard A. Sauers, a recognized authority on
the campaign and author of A Succession of Honorable Victories: The Burnside Expedition in
North Carolina, will deliver the keynote address for The Burnside Expedition, 1862: A
Symposium, at the opening dinner on Friday evening. On Saturday morning, a series of
four hour- long lectures will begin with Christopher Meekins, correspondence archivist at
the North Carolina State Archives, presenting “ Interval of War: Local Response from the
Fall of Hatteras to the Burnside Expedition.” R. Matthew Poteat, assistant professor of
history at Central Virginia Community College, will then discuss “ ‘ We have disarmed
ourselves to arm you’: Governor Henry T. Clark and the Defense of Coastal North
Carolina.” The lectures will continue in the afternoon with Jim Gaddis of the Lenoir
County Historical Association presenting “ Slander of the Commander: North Carolina’s
Brigadier General Richard C. Gatlin and the Burnside Expedition.” Richard A. Law-rence,
supervisor of the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the Office of State Archaeol-ogy,
will conclude the symposium with a discussion of “ Underwater Archaeology of the
Burnside Expedition.” Reservations for the symposium are required by January 26. The
Friday evening session, which begins at 6: 00 P. M., costs $ 25.00 per person and includes a
dinner of barbecue, fried chicken, and the fixings. The cost for the four Saturday lectures
is $ 25.00 per person with registration beginning at 9: 00 A. M. and the lectures at 9: 30.
Registrants may attend both sessions for $ 40.00. In conjunction with the symposium, the
museum’s annual Civil War living history program will be held on the Museum Green.
For reservations or additional information, call ( 252) 335- 1453.
Archives and History Employees Join Worksite Wellness Activities
The Worksite Wellness Committee of the Department of Cultural Resources ( DCR)
is encouraging Office of Archives and History staff members to exercise and reduce stress.
The committee, part of a statewide initiative of the State Health Plan, helped to produce a
downtown Raleigh area walking map. A kick- off event held to highlight the map featured
walking tours of historic neighborhoods, led by Claudia Brown and Ann Swallow of the
Survey and Planning Branch of the State Historic Preservation Office. About fifty- five
DCR employees participated in four walks of varying lengths. A prize drawing followed
the walks, and all participants were rewarded with a special “ DCR Bodies in Motion”
sports bottle. The Worksite Wellness Committee also offers a yoga class, taught by Matt
Waehner of the Collections Management Branch of the Archives and Records Section,
1 2 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
Susan Myers ( front left) of the Office
of State Archaeology and Denise
Craig ( front right) of the Historical
Publications Section, two members
of the DCR Worksite Wellness
Committee, lead a group of
departmental employees on a walk
through downtown Raleigh.
every Monday at noon in the auditorium of the Archives and History/ State Library Build-ing.
The committee hung posters that urge people to “ move more” by taking the
stairs— conspicuously placed next to all elevator stops in the Jones Street facility. More
walks and activities are planned for the coming months. Representing the Office of
Archives and History on the departmental committee are Chris Black of the Archives and
Records Section, Denise Craig of the Historical Publications Section, Juliana Hoekstra of
the State Historic Preservation Office, Susan Myers of the Office of State Archaeology,
and Ansley Herring Wegner of the Research Branch.
News from Historical Resources
Archives and Records Section
On most days George Stevenson works quietly and industriously on the third floor of
the Archives and History/ State Library Building, rummaging through stacks of manu-scripts,
photographs, and personal papers, bringing order to the Archives’ private manu-scripts
collections. For more than thirty- six years, George has mined the Archives and
arranged and described its collections, shaping a precious institutional memory that is
unique and valued among his fellow archivists. In November, George was honored with
the Order of the Longleaf Pine for his years of service, but particularly for the important
role he played in securing North Carolina’s copy of the Bill of Rights. The Order of the
Longleaf Pine is the highest civilian honor that can be awarded by the State of North
Carolina and is presented to individuals who have a record of extraordinary service to the
state. George was recognized for his length of service, depth of experience, and expertise
in the field of archives.
It was the diligent work of George Stevenson in verifying the filing endorsement on the
back of the Bill of Rights that strengthened North Carolina’s claim to a document that
was stolen from the State Capitol more than 140 years ago. A filing endorsement in the
colonial period was usually a handwritten notation on the back of a document reflecting
its identity, sometimes recording the date of receipt or the date of creation. North
Carolina’s copy of the Bill of Rights is one of fourteen original copies and was claimed by
both the State of North Carolina and two collectors who had purchased the document.
The only identifying mark on the back of the contested Bill of Rights was its handwritten
endorsement. The question became: whose handwriting was it?
Enter George Stevenson Jr. with years of experience with colonial and post- Revolu-tionary
War records, paper, and handwriting. For weeks, he searched archival documents
looking for handwriting that would match the filing endorsement on the back of the Bill
of Rights. After rejecting several possibilities, George became aware of one Pleasant
Henderson, a Granville County native who had served as a clerk in the 1789 Assembly,
assistant clerk to the House of Commons during the 1795 session of the Assembly, and
V O L U M E 5 5 , N U M B E R 1 , J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 1 3
private secretary to Gov. Alexander Martin and clerk to the Council of State from 1781 to
1784. By comparing Henderson’s handwriting on other documents with the notations on
the back of the Bill of Rights, George determined that indeed the document had once
been accessioned and owned by the state. His videotaped affidavit attesting to the
identification will be heard as the trial for ownership proceeds.
In presenting the award to George, Dr. Jeffrey Crow, deputy secretary of the Office of
Archives and History, noted: “ George Stevenson is the indispensable archivist. For four
decades he has provided researchers with expert advice and direction. I count myself
among George’s many devoted fans.”
Stevenson began his archival career with the North Carolina Collection at the Univer-sity
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1965. He moved to the State Archives in 1970.
During the seventies, he worked in England and Scotland identifying and arranging for the
copying of documents with relevance to colonial North Carolina. From 1977 to 1988, he
was head of reference services in the Search Room, where he trained the next generation
of archivists, many of whom are still in service with the Office of Archives and History.
Since 1989, he has been head of the private manuscripts collection.
In November, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission ( NHPRC)
awarded the North Carolina State Archives, the Kentucky State Library and Archives, and
the Pennsylvania State Archives an eighteen- month grant for an Electronic Mail Preserva-tion
Collaboration Initiative. This project will build on work done in 2005 by North
Carolina under an NHPRC fellows grant to develop a collection and preservation tool for
official electronic correspondence in government. Kelly Eubank, electronic records archi-vist
at the North Carolina State Archives, will be the project manager.
There are four main goals of the initiative: to continue the development of e- mail pres-ervation
software to convert attachments from their native formats into a more stable
XML format, and complete written documentation for the program; to test the software
to determine its scalability, efficiency, and employee compliance, using records retention
schedules; to produce different types of training methodologies, including web- based
training, implementing work already under development by the Pennsylvania State
Archives; and to test the feasibility of various ways of providing access to XML files,
1 4 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
Jeffrey J. Crow ( left), deputy secretary of the Office of Archives and History, presents the Order of
the Longleaf Pine to archivist George Stevenson Jr. ( right) in recognition of his many years of
exceptional service to the State Archives.
whether through existing online catalogs, a third- party vendor, or web interfaces. The end
result should provide state agencies and the state records program in the Archives with a
tool for the collection and preservation of electronic mail. Hopefully, for the user, it will
mimic their current desktop client; for example, if they use Microsoft Outlook, there will
be a folder in their folder structure titled “ Archives,” and when they drag and drop e- mail
into that folder, the correspondence will be sent automatically to a server in the State
Archives. The hope is that by appropriating current behaviors, archivists will have a better
mechanism for collecting and preserving permanently valuable correspondence that might
otherwise be destroyed. While this process will require some technical support to set up, it
will require little additional action once in place. The project partners would like to test
compliance of records creators to retention schedules for e- mail and see how that
compares to acceptance and use of schedules governing traditional paper records.
The North Carolina State Historical Records Advisory Board ( SHRAB) was also
awarded funding by the NHPRC for a two- year awareness and education program. The
purpose of the Disaster Preparedness Training for Documentary Institutions program is to
provide statewide education, resources, and guidance to North Carolina’s documentary
and cultural repositories for the development and dissemination of disaster preparedness
plans ( DPPs), with the ultimate goal of better protecting collections during natural or
human- caused disasters. The objectives of the project are to identify and involve stake-holders—
disaster preparedness personnel, emergency management and recovery employ-ees,
and cultural resources management— in the process of providing education and hands-on
training opportunities in disaster preparedness; create, build, and strengthen networks
among emergency management and cultural resources personnel; provide resources, tools,
and guidance to repositories in developing DPPs; and disseminate information about
disaster preparedness planning through several communication channels. The SHRAB
grant will be used to ensure that North Carolina documentary repositories understand the
importance of developing DPPs; are given the tools, training, resources, and guidance to
develop appropriate plans; and are provided with strong networks of support.
The State Archives is home to the large collection of Reginald A. Fessenden Papers
( P. C. 1140), and the centennial of Fessenden’s historic trans- Atlantic radio transmission
was noted on December 24, 2006. Kim Cumber, of the Non- textual Materials Unit of the
Special Collections Branch, worked with Ashley Yandle of the Information Technology
Branch, and Matt Waehner and Alan Westmoreland of the Collections Management
Branch, to compile a photo gallery of selected images from the Fessenden Papers depicting
Reginald A. Fessenden and his pioneering work in radio technology. On November 1,
the photo gallery went live on the State Archives’ website, http:// www. ah. dcr. state. nc. us/
archives/ photos/ fessenden/ index_ fessenden. htm.
Historical Publications Section
The Moravians of Piedmont North Carolina have left their indelible stamp on the cul-ture
of the state. A new volume of edited church diaries and minute books kept by
Moravian ministers provides insight into life in their communities in the volatile years
immediately after the Civil War.
The published series of Records of the Moravians in North Carolina has provided historians,
genealogists, and casual readers with firsthand, almost daily, accounts of life in the state
stretching back to colonial times. The new volume 13 covers the years 1867 to 1876, a
momentous period in North Carolina history— the era of Reconstruction, the aftermath
of and recovery from the Civil War. Edited by C. Daniel Crews and Lisa D. Bailey, this
volume examines the accommodation of whites and blacks as they adjusted to new roles
V O L U M E 5 5 , N U M B E R 1 , J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 1 5
following the end of slavery. Other topics include the tattered postwar economy, the
renewed growth of the communities of Salem and Winston, the incorporation of the
town of Kernersville, and the advance of the railroad through Moravian land. The volume
is indexed and contains a foldout map of Salem and Winston in 1876. Appendixes record
births, baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials in the Moravian communities. The text is
illustrated with pictures of Moravian buildings, people, and celebrations, such as the Home
Church in Salem decorated for Christmas, ca. 1909.
C. Daniel Crews is a native of Winston- Salem and a graduate of High Point University.
He earned graduate degrees from Moravian Theological Seminary, the University of
North Carolina at Greensboro, and the University of Manchester. An ordained Moravian
minister, Crews has been archivist of the Moravian Church, Southern Province, since
1991. Lisa D. Bailey is a native of Raleigh. She received a B. A. degree in English from
Meredith College and is an editor with the Historical Publications Section. She has applied
her editorial skills to many publications on North Carolina history during her more than
twenty years with the section.
Volume 13 of Records of the Moravians in North Carolina
( clothbound, illustrated, indexed) ( right) costs $ 53.70, which
includes tax and shipping. Volume 12 of the series, which cov-ers
the years 1856- 1866, is still available at the same price. Both
volumes may be ordered from the Historical Publications Sec-tion
( CC), Office of Archives and History, 4622 Mail Service
Center, Raleigh, NC 27699- 4622. For credit card orders, call
( 919) 733- 7442, or use the section’s secure online store at
http:// store. yahoo. com/ nc- historical- publications/.
For the first time in several years, twelve books by the late
Jo White Linn of Salisbury are available for purchase. Among
these invaluable genealogical research tools are abstracts of
deeds, wills, tax lists, estates records, and census schedules for
Davie, Iredell, Rowan, and Surry counties, as well as two
historical diaries and two family histories. Jo White Linn ( 1930- 2006) was a certified gene-alogist
and an active member of many genealogical and hereditary societies. A prolific
researcher and writer, she published numerous volumes of abstracts of public records for
use by researchers. For sixteen years, she also edited the Rowan County Register.
Specific records abstracted or transcribed include Iredell County tax lists ( 1800, 1815,
1837); Rowan County deeds ( 1753- 1785), wills and estates ( 1753- 1805), tax lists ( 1757-
1800, 1815), and census ( 1850); and Surry County wills ( 1771- 1827). Diaries of Johann
Gottfried Arends ( 1740- 1807) and Elizabeth Dick Lindsay ( 1837- 1861) have also been
reproduced and/ or transcribed. Family histories of the Holmes family of Rowan and
Davidson counties and Nathalie Fontaine Lyons are also available.
The Rowan County Register was published quarterly between 1986 and 2001 with an
annual index. Included in it were Bible records, church records, Civil War letters, family
histories, and maps. Abstracts of Rowan and surrounding counties’ records included
accounts, bills, court minutes, death registers, deeds, estates, land entries, marriage records,
militia lists, naturalizations, pension records, petitions, slave records, tax lists, and wills.
This journal may be purchased by the entire run, by year, or by single issue. A complete
listing and description of each year’s four issues is available only on the section’s online
store.
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State Historic Preservation Office
In October Reid Thomas, restoration specialist in the Eastern Office in Greenville, was
awarded the Robert E. Stipe Award at Preservation North Carolina’s annual statewide
conference in Wilmington. The Stipe Award is North Carolina’s highest honor presented
to working professionals who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to historic preser-vation
as part of their job responsibilities. The award is given in honor of Robert E. Stipe
of Chapel Hill, retired educa-tor
in the field of historic
preservation, mentor to gen-erations
of preservation stu-dents,
and former director of
the Division of Archives and
History.
Since joining the Eastern
Office staff in 1990, Reid
Thomas has assisted numer-ous
organizations on the
local, state, and federal levels
with regional preservation
projects, and has provided
local consultation site visits to
hundreds of owners of his-toric
properties, frequently
working beyond regular
office hours. In addition to a
B. S. degree in history from Campbell University, his studies have included field schools at
Poplar Forest ( Thomas Jefferson’s mountain retreat near Lynchburg, Va.), Eastfield Village,
N. Y., and Colonial Williamsburg; and a Quinque Fellowship, which provided funding for a
three- month travel fellowship to study restoration techniques of the Historic Scotland Foun-dation
in 2002.
The staff of the Eastern Office attended the annual meeting of the Gates County His-torical
Society on June 22 to present the 2006 LaRue Mooring Evans Award to Edith
Seiling, in recognition of her many years of leadership and success in promoting historic
preservation in Gates County. As the dedicated longtime president of the Gates County
Historical Society, Mrs. Seiling has been instrumental in educating the county’s citizens to
value and appreciate history and historic preservation. Her legacy includes saving and pre-serving
the historic ca. 1836 Gates County Courthouse, and promoting the long- overdue
county- wide survey of historic buildings that resulted in the publication, Forgotten Gates,
which documents the county’s architectural heritage.
The Eastern Office established the LaRue Mooring Evans Award in 2003 as a means of
recognizing significant contributions to historic preservation by dedicated volunteers
throughout its twenty- six- county region. The award is given each year to an individual in
the region who manifests the virtues and spirit of volunteerism in the fields of history and
historic preservation, as demonstrated by significant individual accomplishments, leader-ship,
cooperation, and the all- important ingredient in any successful preservation project,
tenacity. Staff members named the award in honor of LaRue Mooring Evans of Pitt
County to recognize her leadership roles in two local historical societies, as well as a wide
range of successful projects. She served on the editorial committee for the publication of
V O L U M E 5 5 , N U M B E R 1 , J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 1 7
Reid Thomas ( left) receives the Robert E. Stipe Award from
Denise Barnes ( center), president, and Myrick Howard ( right),
executive director, at Preservation North Carolina’s annual
conference.
the Pitt County Chronicles; chaired the architectural survey and publication committees for
the resulting book, The Historic Architecture of Pitt County, North Carolina; established a
region- wide support group for the Eastern Office and the historic Robert Lee Humber
House; and was instrumental in the restoration of the A. W. Ange House in Winterville.
A silver cup was created for the award and is inscribed with the name of each year’s
recipient. The trophy remains on display for public viewing at the Robert Lee Humber
House in downtown Greenville throughout the year.
News from State Historic Sites and Properties
Museum and Visitor Services Section
In November, chief curator of collections Carol Chamberlain and curator of education
Jann Brown arranged one- day collection management workshops for staff members, con-ducted
by the Chicora Foundation of Columbia, S. C. Founded in 1983, the foundation is
a nonprofit heritage preservation organization whose work includes archaeological and
historical research, public education, and conservation and preservation activities with
museums, libraries, archives, historic organizations, and private citizens. Employees from
the section and most of the twenty- seven state historic sites participated in the workshops.
Division personnel in the eastern part of the state attended sessions at the Charles B.
Aycock Birthplace at Pikeville, while western employees were hosted by the Charlotte
Hawkins Brown Museum in Sedalia. The workshops, designed to help curators, registrars,
archivists, librarians, and other professionals sharpen or refine their skills in collection care
and maintenance, were titled “ Housekeeping for Museums: Things that Heloise
Didn’t Tell You.” Topics included the care that various types of objects should receive
and simple in- house conservation treatments that can be safely performed.
In October, the State Capitol distributed its newest publication, the State Capitol
Foundation newsletter, Anthemion. The full- color quarterly newsletter has been well
received by foundation members and has brought in significant donations that will help
fund educational programs and the continued restoration of the Capitol.
The State Capitol hosted the Governor’s Tree Lighting Ceremony and Holiday Festival
on December 5, kicking off a week of holiday celebrations and the site’s open house. The
traditional lighting of the state Christmas tree was followed by festivities on Capitol Square
and on nearby Bicentennial Plaza, in front of both the Museum of History and the
Museum of Natural Sciences. Musical performances by the St. Mary’s Chorale, the
Raleigh Concert Band, the Wake Med Chorus, the Opera Company of North Carolina,
the Encore Performers, the Sandbox Band, Kindermusik’s Flute Choir, and the
Broughton High School Madrigal Singers highlighted the evening. The Holiday Open
House at the Capitol featured seasonal music performed by local groups in daily concerts
1 8 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
in the rotunda. The Raleigh Garden Club decorated the building to accord with this
year’s theme, “ Trees of the Imagination.”
North Carolina Transportation Museum
Eight transportation pioneers were honored at the North Carolina Transportation Hall
of Fame’s third annual induction and awards ceremony at the museum on October 31.
Two North Carolina women were among the inductees: Emily Brown Blount, a 1954
graduate of North Carolina State University, who was the first woman to be registered as a
professional engineer in the state; and Mary Webb Nicholson of Greensboro, the first
female licensed pilot in North Carolina, who was killed in action while flying with the
British Air Transport Auxiliary during World War II. The other inductees were
Hampton D. Haith, the last general manager of Winston- Salem’s Safe Bus Company, the
largest African American transportation system in the nation during the 1970s; Malcom P.
McLean, founder of McLean Trucking of Winston- Salem and the inventor of
containerized shipping; Carl Mickey Sr., who helped Mickey Truck Bodies grow from a
small operation manufacturing iron rings for wagon wheels in the early 1900s into an
international organization that produces state- of- the- art aluminum bodies and trailers;
Coleman Roberts, founder of
the Carolina Motor Club in
Greensboro, the largest AAA
affiliate in the South; Willis
Slane, a pioneer in fiberglass
boat construction and the
founder of Hatteras Yachts;
and Nello L. Teer Sr., who
built a thriving Durham-based
highway and bridge
construction business.
A special highlight of the
annual Antique Automobile
Club of America car show on
October 14 was the dedica-tion
of the Railway Express
Agency truck. The extensive
restoration of this meticulously detailed vehicle was spearheaded by Lester Brown, a
member of the board of directors of the North Carolina Transportation Museum Founda-tion,
who was assisted by a group of dedicated volunteers. Sadly, Brown passed away
before the dedication ceremony.
Northeastern Historic Sites Section
Historic Edenton’s Beat the Heat: Colonial Coping Strategies guided tour program at
the James Iredell House throughout August was well attended. Other recent programs
included a Constitution Week display at the visitor center, offered in conjunction with the
Edenton Tea Party Chapter, National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolu-tion,
and guided tours that emphasized the roles played by Hugh Williamson and James
Iredell in the adoption of the U. S. Constitution. The site also hosted Colonial Living
History Days for area schoolchildren in October with participation by 585 students in 29
fourth- grade classes. October 5, declared “ James Iredell Day” in Edenton in perpetuity on
the occasion of his 250th birthday in 2001, was honored this year with a lecture and a new
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During the annual Antique Automobile Club of America car
show at the North Carolina Transportation Museum, reenactors
unload packages from the newly restored Railway Express
Agency truck.
exhibit panel at the 1767 Chowan County Courthouse. The lecture was presented by
Historic Edenton staff member Carolyn A. Owens and was promoted through the
Museum of the Albemarle Historic Roundtable Series.
An interpretive sign marking Edenton’s Colonial Park as a member of the National
Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program was unveiled and
dedicated on November 9. Speakers included Edenton mayor Roland Vaughan, Keith
Hardison, director of the Division of State Historic Sites and Properties, and Teresa Watts
of the Division of Tourism, Film, and Sports Development. The event included the
unveiling of the sign by members of the John A. Holmes High School Human Relations
Team, a solo by Glorious Elliott, and a blessing by Rev. Edna Lawrence of Kadesh AME
Zion Church. Historic Edenton site manager Linda Jordan Eure, Chowan County Tour-ism
Development Authority director Nancy Nicholls, and former heritage tourism officer
Ginny Culpepper prepared and submitted the application that resulted in Edenton’s
designation as a Network to Freedom site.
At Historic Bath, the cellar kitchen at the Palmer- Marsh House ( ca. 1751) has received
a much- needed facelift. In the late 1980s, an electrical fire destroyed the roof and portions
of the attic of the house. Subsequent restoration and the installation of the fire suppression
and HVAC systems negatively impacted the cellar kitchen space, with piping and
ductwork marring its historic appearance. The enhancement project has diminished the
intrusiveness of the modern appliances and created a more engaging, appropriate interpre-tation
of the space. The walls, ceiling, pipes, and ductwork were whitewashed, and
period- appropriate lighting was installed. A combination of period and newly acquired
reproduction pieces are being used to interpret the kitchen in a historically authentic fash-ion,
consistent with the household of pre- Revolution, eastern North Carolina gentry. The
kitchen is presently being shown in the midst of preparations for the December 1764 visit
of Gov. William Tryon. The highlight of the interpretation is a reproduction longleaf pine
dresser, which would have been used as a food preparation space and for storage of dishes,
pots, and pans.
A yearlong program for second graders has been instituted at Bath Elementary School.
Students plant and tend several types of gourds that were used in North Carolina, harvest
the plants, and create bowls, dippers, and other utensils from the dried gourds. This pro-gram
has been designed to accord with state curriculum goals in math, science, and
language arts.
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Second- grade students from
Bath Elementary School
examine a dry luffa gourd.
Historic Halifax State Historic Site will soon have another completely restored building
to add to the historic area. The 1838 Jail, which was the third jail built in the town of
Halifax, will be undergoing interior restoration. The Historical Halifax Restoration Asso-ciation,
local support group for the site, is providing the necessary funding for the venture.
The jail was the first building bought by the association in 1954 under the leadership of
Ray Wilkinson, who was its chairman for more than fifty years. His lifelong dream was to
have the jail completely renovated so that visitors could enjoy the unique building. It is
therefore being restored in memory of Wilkinson, who passed away in 2004.
At Somerset Place, temporary braces to support a collapsed foundation pier were
recently installed as one component of a comprehensive engineering study that will lead to
the stabilization of the foundation piers under the Collins family home. The stabilization is
anticipated to cost approximately $ 2.5 million.
Piedmont Historic Sites Section
Alamance Battleground
held the twenty- seventh edi-tion
of its popular Colonial
Living Week during the
week of October 9- 13. The
successful event attracted
1,915 people, which
included 1,104 students from
six Piedmont counties.
Because of the efforts of ded-icated
division staff members
and volunteers, most of
whom were dressed in period
costumes, visitors attending
the five- day educational
program enjoyed a unique
glimpse into backcountry
colonial life. They gained
firsthand knowledge about open- fire cooking, candle making, blacksmithing, cord
waining, cider making, quill- pen writing, spinning, period toys, and black- powder weap-ons,
particularly the crowd- pleasing, once- a- day “ live” firing of the Alamance cannon.
The Alamance staff also hosted the holiday event, A Starry Christmas, on December 10.
Visitors made star decorations and sampled delicious star- shaped foods. They were pro-vided
a copy of an informative program that featured facts regarding the star, its seasonal
significance, and ideas for its use in decorations.
Duke Homestead offered its annual Christmas By Candlelight tours on consecutive
Fridays, December 1 and December 8. Costumed interpreters led visitors down a candle-lit
trail to the 1852 homestead for a mid- nineteenth- century Christmas celebration. Mike
Novak and Steve Vincent played traditional Christmas carols in the parlor, while site staff
members and volunteers served hot apple cider, homemade sugar cookies, and popcorn
that was popped over a bonfire. The Dandies, an instrumental string- music band, per-formed
in the auditorium on December 1, and Sassafras, another local string band, played
instrumental holiday and popular nineteenth- century music on December 8.
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Historic interpreter Royal Windley ( right) explains to a group of
schoolchildren the proper technique for loading a cannon during
the annual Colonial Living Week at Alamance Battleground
State Historic Site.
At the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum, Canary Cottage, Dr. Brown’s campus
home, was decorated as it would have been for Christmas in the 1940s. The site hosted its
annual Christmas celebration on December 10 with performances by local choirs and
musicians.
Roanoke Island Festival Park
In the recently concluded short session of the General Assembly, the park received a
$ 2 million appropriation to fund the implementation of a proposed exhibit enhancement
program. The project will focus upon three goals: the creation of an outdoor, interactive
Native American Village and Cultural Education Center; the redesign of the visitor center
and placement of orientation and educational signage throughout the site; and the expan-sion
of exhibits and activity stations in the Roanoke Adventure Museum. Formulation of
the proposal began in 2005 when the Roanoke Island Commission, which oversees the
park, embarked upon an intensive strategic planning initiative, a process that included
interviews with nearly one hundred stakeholders in the local community. Additional pub-lic
feedback was obtained through a comprehensive guest survey and performance evalua-tion
conducted at the park during 2006. Important goals identified by these processes
included the need to expand the scope and diversity of educational offerings and to more
fully relate the international significance of the first English settlements in North America,
which occurred at Roanoke Island between 1584 and 1587.
On October 16, members of the Roanoke Island Festival Park North Carolina Aquatic
Habitat Restoration and Protection Team were honored for their efforts to transform the
eroding shoreline of the park into a thriving maritime forest, marsh, and oyster habitat,
protected from wave action. Ceremonies were held on the project site at the park.
Brig. Gen. Joseph Schroedel, commander of the South Atlantic Division of the U. S. Army
Corps of Engineers, presented the Chief of Engineers’ Design and Environmental Honor
Award to members of the partnership that restored a fifteen- hundred- foot swath of erod-ing
shoreline, transforming it into a flourishing habitat for oysters, a maritime forest, and a
marsh- grass ecosystem. The winning project was selected by a jury of environmentalists,
engineers, and designers as an outstanding example of environmental restoration.
Participants on the award- winning team included the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Wilmington District; the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural
Resources— Division of Water Resources, Division of Forest Resources, and Division of
2 2 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
Brig. Gen. Joseph Schroedel of the U. S.
Army Corps of Engineers presented the
Chief of Engineers’ Design and
Environmental Award to members of
the team that restored a portion of the
shoreline at Roanoke Island Festival
Park ( RIFP). Pictured ( left to right) are
John D. Sutherland of the Division of
Water Resources; Scott M. Stroh III,
executive director of RIFP; General
Schroedel; Suzanne Godley, project
manager at RIFP; Carroll Williams,
RIFP facilities manager; Robert W.
Keistler, representing the U. S. Army
Corps of Engineers, Wilmington
District, project delivery team; and
Col. John P. Pulliam, district engineer
of the Wilmington District.
Marine Fisheries; the Roanoke Island Commission/ Roanoke Island Festival Park; the
North Carolina Coastal Federation; U. S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources
Conservation Service— Cape May Plant Materials Center; U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
North Carolina State University Department of Horticulture Science; Carteret Commu-nity
College; the Nature Conservancy; the Town of Manteo; Outer Banks Master Gar-deners;
and various Boy and Girl Scout organizations throughout Dare County.
Southeastern Historic Sites Section
On September 16, the annual Revolutionary War Encampment program at the CSS
Neuse/ Richard Caswell Memorial featured a variety of eighteenth- century activities. Visi-tors
watched musket- firing demonstrations and a British army drill, and enjoyed period
games, nautical displays, cooking, and fashions. On November 18 and 19, the site hosted
its Civil War Navy Living History program. Members of several North Carolina and Vir-ginia
reenactment/ living history organizations demonstrated aspects of period naval life,
including nautical skills, navigational techniques, and daily shipboard living. The Old
South Blacksmiths demonstrated how blacksmith shops in Kinston made various items for
the ship and artillery units.
At the Aycock Birthplace’s Living History Wednesdays during October and November,
interpreters in period attire demonstrated the various chores typically performed around a
nineteenth- century eastern North Carolina farm. On December 5 and 7, the annual Christ-mas
Candlelight Tours allowed visitors to see the ways the holiday was celebrated in the
1870s. With the house and kitchen decorated for Christmas, costumed interpreters discussed
holiday traditions of the period and demonstrated open- hearth cooking, while the Primitive
Baptist Singers entertained guests with traditional carols and old- fashioned gospel music.
At Bentonville Battlefield on December 2, staff members decorated the kitchen with holly
and magnolia branches, cotton stalks, various fruits, and cranberry and popcorn strands in
observance of the annual Christmas festivities. Costumed military interpreters discussed the
activities of the common soldier with friends and family while home on furlough.
Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens
With a generous grant of $ 250,000 from the Wachovia Foundation, Tryon Palace His-toric
Sites & Gardens and the Wachovia Corporation have entered into a five- year part-nership
to support the Palace’s Many Stories, One History initiative. The Wachovia
Foundation, funded by Wachovia Corporation, supports programs that improve the
quality of life and have a positive impact in communities served by Wachovia.
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Artillery batteries deliver a spectacular nighttime volley during the Civil War Navy Living History
program at the CSS Neuse/ Richard Caswell Memorial on November 18.
The foundation’s focus on building inclusive communities found a natural partner in the
Many Stories, One History initiative, which is designed to include everyone’s stories of the
past. Over the next five years, Many Stories, One History will infuse the environment and
programming throughout the historic site with its all- embracing historical message, increas-ingly
expanding in preparation for the opening of the North Carolina History Education
Center in 2010.
Under the auspices of the grant, Catherine Bishir, senior architectural historian for Pres-ervation
North Carolina, has been retained to research African American artisans in central
eastern North Carolina. Bishir is the author of numerous works on the architecture of the
Upper South, including her contributions to North Carolina Architecture. Her research for
Tryon Palace will develop an expanded body of information for program interpretation
and culminate with a book publication in time for New Bern’s three- hundredth anniver-sary,
also in 2010. Other uses of the grant funding in the first two years will include addi-tional
African American research, African American history on the site’s web page, support
for the African American Community Task Force, and diversity training for Tryon Palace
staff members.
The Tryon Palace Council of Friends has secured a $ 3,500 grant from the Greensboro-based
Marion Stedman Covington Foundation to install new lighting in the dining room,
drawing room, and Council Chamber in the palace. The identification of the first two of
these rooms was recently reversed as part of the palace re- interpretation plan. The overall
scheme, based on the discovery of a 1783 letter from palace architect John Hawks to Fran-cisco
de Miranda, is designed to present a more accurate presentation of eighteenth-century
life in New Bern and the palace’s dual role as home of royal governors and capitol
building for the colony ( and subsequently the state). The addition of the new lights will
brighten the rooms while maintaining their historical integrity.
Western Historic Sites Section
The development of educational and interpretive programming at Fort Dobbs has
gained attention statewide and beyond. Site staff members have been in increased demand
for programs on and off- site about the French and Indian War and the soldiers that served
the colony during the fateful years of 1754- 1763. The programs at the fort, reflecting the
N. C. Department of Public Instruction standard course requirements, range from a discus-sion
of the colony’s role in the French and Indian War to interactive programming for
students teaching the rudiments of facings, marching, and wheeling as shown to militia
recruits in 1755. On December 13, historic interpreter Matthew Keagle traveled to
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Packhorses loaded with trade goods
were among the new additions to
this year’s Eighteenth- Century
Trade Faire at Fort Dobbs on
October 7- 8.
Washington, D. C., to take part in the opening of the first major exhibit on the French and
Indian War at the Smithsonian Institution. The exhibit, Clash of Empires, is a detailed and
thorough look at the war across North America and the world. It opened at the Heinz
History Center in Pittsburgh, then traveled to the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa
before beginning a run at the Smithsonian Institution’s Ripley Center in December.
Keagle attended the opening reception, where he provided costumed interpretation of
North Carolina’s role in the war.
In early October, five hundred students challenged their notions of the eighteenth-century
frontier with the special school day programming during the Eighteenth- Century
Trade Faire. Students and educators explored military drill, interacted with traders on
packhorses, learned about blacksmithing, participated in spinning, and experienced an
Indian camp. The two- day trade faire drew more than sixteen hundred visitors who saw
nearly one hundred reenactors bring to life North Carolina’s colonial frontier. Popular
offerings from previous years, such as the Cherokee camp, a blacksmith, and the Cones-toga
wagon, were continued. This year’s event also featured many new programs, provid-ing
a larger assemblage of tradesmen, including a saddler, a leather- breeches maker, and a
shoemaker. Indian traders brought two packhorses to the site to interpret the main means
of transporting goods in the Carolina backcountry. Robert Mouland portrayed Michael
Keane, an Irish harp player who came with Gov. Arthur Dobbs to America and may have
accompanied North Carolina soldiers to New York in 1756. Mouland played a variety of
original and reproduction instruments from the eighteenth century. The culmination of
the event was a new scenario based upon a 1760 account in the South Carolina Gazette of a
Cherokee raid on a Rowan County homestead that ended with a militia company track-ing
and engaging the raiders. The reenactment concluded with a dramatic portrayal of the
usual fate of captives taken by Indian raiding parties.
Support for Fort Dobbs continues to grow as plans for the reconstruction of the 1756
fort advance. The Friends of Fort Dobbs now boasts more than 770 members from nine
states and throughout North Carolina, many of whom celebrated the year’s success and
the importance of the fort in North Carolina’s history at a Candlelight Gala on December 8.
Through the generous support of the Friends, master planning will begin in early 2007 for
long- term designs for the site, beyond reconstruction of the fort.
The Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace is sporting new roofs on both the Vance home and
the slave cabin. Division craftsmen under the leadership of Jay Hayden completed log and
post replacement. The craftsmen also re- glazed the windows on the Vance home and
treated window frames with a sealant. School group visitation has been heavy as a result of
limitations on field trips outside of the county imposed upon Buncombe County schools,
which has allowed many Buncombe teachers to rediscover the Vance Birthplace.
Horne Creek Living Historical Farm had two very successful fall events with the From
Peel to Pie program and the annual Cornshucking Frolic. The frolic allows visitors to
experience many hands- on activities of farm life in 1900 and features many wonderful
bluegrass music groups. More than six thousand people attended the 2006 Cornshucking
Frolic, and the site’s support group sold two hundred gallons of chicken stew and six hun-dred
fried apple pies. Division craftsmen performed temporary repairs on the Hauser
House roof, which is scheduled to be replaced in the spring of 2007.
President James K. Polk’s 211th birthday was celebrated at the President Polk site on
November 4 with a party that included cake, cooking in the kitchen, games on the lawn,
blacksmithing and musketry demonstrations, and dancing. Many visitors came to enjoy the
festivities in Pineville on a beautiful fall day. A new kiosk marker describing the Polks’ life
in southern Mecklenburg County was unveiled during the celebration. The kiosk was
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funded by a grant from the Arts and Science Council of Mecklenburg County. Work will
soon be under way to make major repairs to the cabin and kitchen. These nineteenth-century
structures have not received significant attention since they were moved to the
site in 1967 and 1968. All of the chinking and a number of logs will be replaced, while
others will receive “ dutchman” repairs. Although the work will affect tours that are nor-mally
given inside the buildings, Scott Warren, site manager, and Courtney Hybarger, his-toric
interpreter, are creating a special architectural tour that will be given outside of the
buildings while the repairs are in progress.
Reed Gold Mine has been the site of constant construction over the past several
months. All of the siding has been replaced on the visitor center and museum, and new
windows have been installed in the office areas. Work is currently under way to upgrade
the restrooms to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The new facilities will
be larger and have improved accessibility, and the original front doors have been replaced
with lighter ones that are easier to open. The building is also getting a new roof and
HVAC system. The North Carolina Department of Transportation has been contracted to
rebuild the three site bridges, which are showing signs of decay. The road bridge is no
longer adequate to allow fire protection to the Stamp Mill building. The twenty- fourth
annual Bloody Reign of the Mad Miner program attracted more than six thousand people
to enjoy the haunts of the underground tunnels. The four- night event was a successful
fundraiser for the Gold History Corporation.
News from State History Museums
North Carolina Museum of History
For the eleventh year, the museum commemorated American Indian Heritage Month
with its enormously popular American Indian Heritage Celebration on Saturday, Novem-ber
18. As is customary, the celebration was preceded by a heritage education day for school
groups on Friday. Dozens of school buses transporting nearly twenty- two hundred stu-dents
descended upon downtown Raleigh for the event. Schoolchildren from elementary
grades through high school learned aspects of American Indian history and culture as they
visited teaching stations staffed by members of the eight state- recognized tribes: Coharie,
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Haliwa- Saponi, Lumbee, Meherrin, Occaneechi Band
of Saponi, Sappony, and Waccamaw- Siouan.
On Saturday, activities in the museum, on Bicentennial Plaza, and across the street on
the grounds of the State Capitol engaged a crowd of 6,271. Craftsmen of the museum staff
had created a traditional longhouse on Capitol Square, and members of the Haliwa- Saponi
and Meherrin tribes explained the structure’s ancient history as a multi- family dwelling of
the Eastern Woodland Indians. Representatives of the Occaneechi Band of Saponi burned
a tree trunk to create a dugout canoe. At noon, forty dancers in colorful regalia answered
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the Call to Nations and descended the front steps of the museum into Bicentennial Plaza,
where they performed a variety of dances— traditional, fancy, jingle, grass, and hoop— to
the rhythms of the Southern Sun Drum Group and the Red Wolf Drum Group.
An array of traditional American Indian dishes was available for purchase. Visitors
lunched on Indian tacos, sweet potato fries, turkey legs, ribbon fries, barbeque, and fry
bread. Among the many demonstrations of crafts were several hands- on activities, includ-ing
the opportunity to create a dreamcatcher under the guidance of a Sappony tribe mem-ber.
John Blackfeather Jeffries, an Occaneechi- Saponi craftsman, made hunting weapons,
while Coharie tribe member Pat Richardson crafted unique beadwork, and Joel Queen of
the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians created traditional pottery. Storytellers Gwen
Locklear and Lloyd Arneach enthralled their audiences as they spun tales of Indian lore.
Support for the event was provided by the North Carolina Commission on Indian Affairs
and the North Carolina Museum of History Associates.
At the end of the annual heritage celebration, the museum hosted a special presentation
of “ Spiral of Fire,” the second installment of the new documentary series, Indian Country
Diaries, which aired nationwide on the Public Broadcasting System later in November.
The film explores the challenges faced by the modern- day Eastern Band of Cherokee
Indians, and the ways the tribe has revitalized its culture through a successful mixture of
tourism and community preservation to improve the social, physical, and spiritual health
of the tribe. After the presentation, LeAnne Howe, author and narrator of “ Spiral of Fire,”
joined Joyce Dugan, former chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and Greg
Richardson, director of the North Carolina Commission on Indian Affairs, on a panel to
discuss the film. The descendant of a Choctaw mother and a Cherokee father, Howe is
currently the John and Renee Grisham Writer- in- Residence at the University of Missis-sippi.
She is an associate professor in the American Indian Studies program at the Univer-sity
of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. The program was co- sponsored by UNC- TV,
Wake Forest University, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
The museum played
host this fall to two
traveling exhibits with
a maritime flavor. The
Columbus Code, an
exhibit sponsored by the
Mel Fisher Maritime
Heritage Society of Key
West, Florida, opened
on September 26.
Designed especially for
children and families, the
interactive display lured
participants into the fas-cinating
world of under-water
archaeology
through a virtual treasure
hunt. Six shipwrecks from around the world, one of which contained the treasure, were
illustrated through exhibit settings and artifacts. Clues for solving the mystery were con-tained
among the objects, which included coins, cannon shot, musket barrels, and other
weaponry. Touch screens and field notebooks enhanced the display. Major funding for the
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Museum of History craftsmen constructed this traditional longhouse
of the Eastern Woodland Indians on Capitol Square for the eleventh
annual American Indian Heritage Celebration in November.
exhibit, which closed on January 7, 2007, was provided by the Florida Department of
State, Bureau of Historical Museums.
Artifacts from one of the six shipwrecks referenced in The Columbus Code were featured
in a separate display. The Search for Queen Anne’s Revenge, Blackbeard’s Flagship, a travel-ing
exhibit from the North Carolina Maritime Museum at Beaufort, contained six objects
retrieved during the early stages of recovery of the shipwreck, discovered ten years ago in
Beaufort Inlet. The artifacts included a brass blunderbuss barrel, a lead cannon apron, a
cannonball, a pewter plate, a lead sounding weight, and part of a grindstone. The exhibit,
which closed on January 7, also featured a video with footage of early dives to the wreck-age,
a map of the site, and information about pirates, particularly the infamous Blackbeard.
North Carolina Maritime Museum, Beaufort
The museum has expanded its exhibit of artifacts from the shipwreck in nearby Beaufort
Inlet believed to be the Queen Anne’s Revenge ( QAR), with the addition of two small can-nons.
The guns have been conserved and stabilized at the QAR Conservation Lab in
Greenville and returned to Beaufort for display. Like most of the nine cannons recovered
thus far from the wreckage, both of these were found loaded for firing. A rail or swivel gun
was charged with a one- pound iron shot, with old rope wadding to secure the ball and pow-der
charge and a wooden plug in the muzzle to keep the bore dry. At just under two hun-dred
pounds, it is one of the smallest cannons recovered from the site. A small broadside gun,
cast in 1713, weighed in at 326 pounds. It was loaded with a one- and- a- half- pound ball and
langrage consisting of three broken wrought iron bolts. The exhibit in the museum lobby
also now includes a fully rigged model of the QAR crafted by Frank Gaskill of Kinston.
Staff Notes
In Archives and History administration, Parker Backstrom was hired as an administra-tive
secretary III. Laura B. Ketcham, former historic site manager I at Duke Homestead
State Historic Site, was promoted to associate museum curator in the office of the assistant
to the director of the Division of Historical Resources. Karen Pochala- Peck joined the
same office as an office assistant IV.
In the Archives and Records Section of the Division of Historical Resources, Elizabeth
Preston was promoted from processing assistant IV in the Correspondence Unit of the
Public Services Branch to archivist I in the Local Records Unit of the Government
Records Branch. In the Historic Preservation Office, Linda McRae retired after twenty
years of service as office assistant for the Survey and Planning Branch. Mary Ruffin
Hanbury has joined the Grants Administration and Commission Services Branch as the
new preservation planner, providing support and training for the state’s ninety- eight local
historic preservation commissions and sixty Certified Local Governments. Michele
Patterson was hired as the environmental review clerk and administrative secretary.
In the Division of State Historic Sites and Properties, Bob Remsburg was promoted to
serve full- time as western section chief, relieving him of his joint responsibility as site man-ager
at Reed Gold Mine. Andrew Duppstadt, assistant site manager at the CSS
Neuse/ Richard Caswell Memorial, was promoted to historic sites specialist I. He will serve
as the historic weapons program coordinator for all the sites and have a vital role in the
North Carolina History Bowl. The Thomas Wolfe Memorial has added several new staff
members in recent months, including Christian Dwight, historic interpreter II; Patrick
Willis, historic interpreter III; and Jesse Cox, office assistant III. Rebecca Lewis separated
from Reed Gold Mine as historic site manager I. Joe Miljenovic began work at Fort Fisher
State Historic Site as the fort’s first security guard. At Historic Edenton, Kathy Busby,
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historic interpreter I, retired on December 1. Carolyn A. Owens joined the staff as historic
interpreter III and Blake S. Harmon as maintenance mechanic II. At Historic Bath,
Henry S. Modlin separated as historic site assistant, and was succeeded by Henry E.
Tripp Jr. Loretta Jane Mainquist was hired as program assistant at the State Capitol.
Two employees of the Division of State Historic Sites and Properties were recently rec-ognized
with awards. The Elon Alumni Association honored State Capitol director Ray-mond
L. Beck with its Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award at a ceremony in the
Alumni Center on the Elon campus on November 4. Vina Hutchinson Farmer, an
employee of Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens, was named 2006 McDaniel Lewis
Historian of the Year— East by the North Carolina Society of Historians. She is currently
the grants coordinator and editor for The Palace magazine for Tryon Palace.
In the Division of State History Museums, Howard Draper resigned as education coor-dinator
at the Museum of the Albemarle, and Thomas Spagnol was hired at the Elizabeth
City museum as information and communications specialist. At the North Carolina
Museum of History, Kimberly Gordon- Eaton resigned as chief of the Administrative
Services Section. Betsy Conti was appointed director of development, a position funded
by the North Carolina Museum of History Foundation, Inc. The temporary position held
by Louise Benner, curator of costume and textiles, was made permanent. Jeanne Marie
Warzeski has joined the staff as curator, Kelley McCall as special events coordinator, Audra
Slaymaker and Lauren Ossi as assistant registrars in the Collections Management Section,
and Matt Neal as a carpenter II.
Obituary
Dr. George Brown Tindall, 85, Kenan professor of history emeritus at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a leading authority on the history of the American
South since Reconstruction, died on December 2. Born in Greenville, S. C., in 1921, he
earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Furman University in 1942. He served with
the U. S. Army Air Force in the Pacific theater in World War II, leaving the service with
the rank of second lieutenant in 1946. Tindall received a master’s degree in 1948 and a
doctorate in history in 1951, both from UNC- Chapel Hill. His first book, South Carolina
Negroes, 1877- 1900, was published by the University of South Carolina Press in 1952.
Between 1950 and 1958, he taught successively at East Kentucky State College, the Uni-versity
of Mississippi, the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina ( now
UNC- Greensboro), and Louisiana State University. Tindall joined the faculty at UNC-Chapel
Hill as an associate professor in 1958 and was promoted to full professor six years
later. He was named Kenan professor of history in 1969 and became professor emeritus
upon his retirement in 1990. Tindall is perhaps best remembered for his 1967 book, The
Emergence of the New South, 1877- 1900, volume 11 of the History of the South series pub-lished
by Louisiana State University Press. Tindall also authored The Disruption of the Solid
South ( 1972), The Ethnic Southerners ( 1976), and the textbook, America: A Narrative History
( 1984). He was an editor and major contributor to the massive Encyclopedia of Southern Cul-ture,
published by the University of North Carolina Press in 1989. The year after his
retirement, several of his formal students submitted essays in his honor, which Louisiana
State University Press published as The Adaptable South. He was a member of the American
Historical Association, the Southern Historical Association ( serving as president in 1973),
and the Historical Society of North Carolina. Tindall is survived by his wife, Blossom
McGarrity Tindall of Chapel Hill; son Bruce of San Diego, California; daughter Blair of
Santa Monica, California; and a grandson.
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Upcoming Events
January 10 North Carolina Museum of History: History à la Carte: War
Governor of the South. Joe Mobley, author of a recent biography of
Governor Zebulon B. Vance, discusses Vance’s relationship with Jefferson
Davis, some of his military and administrative decisions, and his stance on
Southern independence. 12: 10 P. M.
January 11 Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens: Parlor Talk: “ New Bern under
Occupation.” Historic interpreter Paul Switzer examines the dynamics
of daily life in wartime New Bern, which was occupied by the Union
army from March 1862 to the end of the war. 12: 00 P. M. in the parlor of
the Commission House.
January 13 Historic Bath State Historic Site: “ A Day of Blood at Wilmington:
The 1898 Race Riot.” Bath native LeRae Umfleet of the Research
Branch, principal researcher and writer of the report of the 1898 Wil-mington
Race Riot Commission, discusses her research, the riot, and its
consequences. 10: 00 A. M. Co- sponsored by the Historic Bath Book Club.
January 14 North Carolina Museum of History: Music of the Carolinas: Clarence
Green. Accompanied by Wayne Martin of the North Carolina Arts
Council, Green sings and plays guitar, banjo, and mandolin as he renders
old- time country music and bluegrass. Co- sponsored by PineCone. 3: 00 P. M.
January 16 North Carolina Maritime Museum, Southport: “ World War II in the
Cape Fear Region.” Dr. Everard Smith lectures in the Southport
Community Building. 7: 00 P. M. Call ( 910) 957- 0003 for information
concerning admission fee.
January 18 Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens: African American Lecture:
“ Civil Rights to Black Power: The 1960s Revisited.” The
Reverend Nelson Johnson reflects upon his involvement in the turbulent
years of the Civil Rights movement and the various manifestations of
African American activism. 7: 00 P. M. in the visitor center auditorium.
January 21 Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens: African American Walking
Tour Presentation. Learn about three hundred years of New Bern’s
African American history through a slide presentation, the cold weather
alternative to the popular walking tour. $ 4.00 for adults, $ 2.00 for students.
2: 00 P. M. in the visitor center auditorium. Reprised on February 18.
January 27 North Carolina Museum of History: Sixth Annual African American
Cultural Celebration. Bluesman John Dee Holeman and the Madison
Clouds of Heaven trombone shout band are among the more than seventy
presenters and exhibitors scheduled to celebrate the states’s African
American heritage with music, dance, storytelling, and craft demonstrations.
11: 00 A. M. to 4: 00 P. M.
January 30 North Carolina Museum of History: American Presidents: Life Portraits.
Opening of traveling exhibit sponsored by C- SPAN that features oil
paintings by North Carolina artist Chas Fagan of all forty- two presidents,
photographs from the White House Historical Association, historic front
pages from newspapers, and biographical sketches of the presidents. The
exhibit will run through April 8.
February 1 Museum of the Albemarle: North Carolina’s Revolutionary War
Navy. Chris Grimes, a member of the Ships Company of the Roanoke
reenactment group, discusses the state’s naval contingent of the Continental
establishment. 7: 00 P. M.
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Upcoming Events
February 3 North Carolina Maritime Museum, Beaufort: The Artistry of Charles
McNeill. The first director of the museum was well known for his
exquisite watercolors of coastal scenes and of his ancestral home in
Scotland. This exhibit of his paintings, gathered from private collections,
will run through May 6.
February 9- 10 Museum of the Albemarle: The Burnside Expedition, 1862: A
Symposium. Two- day conference features lectures by keynote speaker
Richard A. Sauers, Richard A. Lawrence, Christopher Meekins, Matthew
Poteat, and Jim Gaddis. Call ( 252) 335- 1453 for reservations.
February 10 Museum of the Albemarle: Civil War Living History: Remember the
Battle of Elizabeth City. Commemoration of the 144th anniversary of
the battle features naval and artillery reenactments, nineteenth- century
games, and activities for children. 10: 00 A. M. to 4: 00 P. M.
North Carolina Museum of History: The North Carolina Roots of African
American Literature: An Anthology. Editor William L. Andrews discusses
his new book, which contends that the contributions of North Carolinians
to African American literature in the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries surpassed those of all other southern states. A book signing will
follow the program. 3: 00 P. M.
February 11 North Carolina Museum of History: Music of the Carolinas: Charles
“ Wsir” Johnson. The master percussionist explores the rhythms of music
from the Caribbean, Africa, South America, and the southern United
States. Co- sponsored by PineCone. 3: 00 P. M.
February 14 North Carolina Museum of History: History à la Carte: Piedmont
Airlines. Frank Elliott, author of Piedmont: Flight of the Pacemaker, discusses
the origins and early years of Piedmont Airlines of North Carolina.
12: 10 P. M.
February 15 Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens: African American Lecture:
“ And Still I Rise.” Sandi Ruger presents a collection of Black
Renaissance poetry and spirituals that celebrate the universal joy of triumph
of the human spirit over adversity. 7: 00 P. M. in the visitor center auditorium.
February 17 Duke Homestead State Historic Site: Courtship and Marriage in the
Nineteenth Century. Special hour- long presentations by Alison Holcomb,
a student in the Public History program at North Carolina State
University, examine the meaning of marriage, the ideal spouse, and
courtship customs in the 1800s. 11: 00 A. M., 1: 00 P. M., and 3: 00 P. M.
February 17- 18 Brunswick Town/ Fort Anderson: Fort Anderson Living History. Civil
War program features naval interpretations and demonstrations of camp life
and artillery firing. 11: 00 A. M. to 3: 00 P. M.
February 18 Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex: LIVE! At the Arsenal.
Guided tours of the North Carolina Arsenal feature presentation about food
substitutions in the South during the CivilWar. 1: 15, 2: 00, 3: 00, and 4: 00 P. M.
February 20 North Carolina Maritime Museum, Southport: “ History of Wilmington
and the Lower Cape Fear.” Dr. Chris Fonvielle presents the lecture at
the Southport Community Building. 7: 00 P. M. Call ( 910) 957- 0003 for
information concerning admission fees.
February 22 Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens: Parlor Talk: “ A Birthday Bill
of Fare.” Shirley Willis, domestic skills manager at Tryon Palace, discusses
the local foods that would have been served for George Washington during
his visit to New Bern in 1791. 12: 00 P. M. in the parlor of the Commission
House.
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Upcoming Events
February 23 North Carolina Maritime Museum, Beaufort: Beaufort Walk. Walking
tour highlights the town’s natural and historic features. 12: 00 to 2: 00 P. M.
$ 5.00 fee. Call ( 252) 728- 7317 to register.
Roanoke Island Festival Park: Freedmen’s Colony Celebration
Concert. Blues and jazz artists Mathew Walsh and “ Cool” John Ferguson
perform in the Film Theater. 8: 00 P. M.
February 25 Roanoke Island Festival Park: Samputu & Ingeli. The 2003 Kora
Award- winner Jean Paul Samputu returns with his dance troupe to perform
traditional songs, dance, and drumming of Rwanda. 2: 00 and 8: 00 P. M.
March 1 Museum of the Albemarle: Albemarle Historic Roundtable. Grant
Ambrose, historic interpreter at Somerset Place State Historic Site,
discusses the life and times of James Johnston Pettigrew. 7: 00 P. M.
March 3- 4 Fort Dobbs State Historic Site: Scouting the Frontier. Reenactors
portray the Frontier Company, who selected the site for the fort in the
spring of 1756. The company encamps, drills, and prepares to lay out Fort
Dobbs. Saturday, 10: 00 A. M. to 4: 00 P. M., Sunday, 12: 00 to 4: 00 P. M.
Roanoke Island Festival Park: Roanoke Island 1862: A Civil War
Living History Weekend. The seventh annual festival commemorates
the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Roanoke Island with many
interactive opportunities for children and adults, including a recruiting
station, woodworking and blacksmithing demonstrations, a living history
encampment, gun drills, lectures, games of capture the flag, and a display
of nineteenth- century toys. Saturday, 10: 00 A. M. to 5: 00 P. M., Sunday,
10: 00 A. M. to 3: 00 P. M.
March 4 Roanoke Island Festival Park: Tenth Annual Priceless Pieces Past &
Present Quilt Extravaganza. Opening reception for the popular
community- wide celebration of the art of quilting, featuring an exhibit of
one hundred quilts, both heirlooms and new creations, demonstrations,
and educational displays. 2: 00 to 4: 00 P. M. The exhibit and special events
will continue through March 27.
March 8 Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens: Parlor Talk: “ Is Your
Furniture Just like Granny— Old but Well Cared For?”
Conservator Dave Taylor discusses the woods and finishes of heirloom
furniture and the proper techniques for cleaning older pieces. 12: 00 P. M. in
the parlor of the Commission House.
March 10 State Capitol: History Happens Here. In the Senate Chamber, Justice
Patricia Timmons- Goodson, the first African American woman to serve
on the North Carolina Supreme Court, recounts her experiences as an
attorney, prosecutor, and judge. 2: 00 P. M.
March 11 North Carolina Museum of History: Music of the Carolinas: Julee
Glaub. The North Carolina musician presents ballads of Ireland and
Appalachia, playing guitar, flute, and bodhran ( an Irish drum).
Co- sponsored by PineCone. 3: 00 P. M.
March 13 North Carolina Museum of History: What We Wore in North Carolina.
Reopening of exhibit with a new selection of clothing from the museum's
collection, many items on display for the first time. The exhibit will run
through October 7.
March 14 North Carolina Museum of History: History à la Carte: Looking for
Longleaf. Lawrence S. Earley discusses his new book, which explores the
depletion by mismanagement of North Carolina’s native longleaf pine
forests, once the world’s greatest source of naval stores. 12: 10 P. M.
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Upcoming Events
March 16- 17 Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens: Thirty- ninth Annual Tryon
Palace Decorative Arts Symposium. “ The Art of Embellishment” is
the theme for the popular weekend event, co- sponsored by the University
of North Carolina at Greensboro. Fee charged. For further information,
call Karen O’Connell at ( 252) 514- 4933.
March 17 North Carolina Museum of History: Bustles, Bloomers, and Naked
Elbows: Women’s Fashions in the Nineteenth Century. Colleen
Callahan, curator emeritus of costume and textiles at the Valentine
Richmond History Center, examines the changing styles and social
implications of women’s fashions in the 1800s. 3: 00 P. M. Registration
required; call ( 919) 807- 7968 by March 12.
March 17- 18 Bentonville Battlefield: Artillery through the Ages. The evolution of
artillery from the fifteenth century to the American Civil War will be the
focus of programming during the commemoration of the 142nd
anniversary of the Battle of Bentonville. 10: 00 A. M. to 4: 00 P. M.
March 18 Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens: African American Historic
Downtown Walking Tour. The tour of New Bern’s historic district
covers sixteen blocks and lasts approximately ninety minutes. 2: 00 P. M. Fee
$ 4.00 adults, $ 2.00 students. Call ( 252) 514- 4900 for reservations.
March 20 North Carolina Maritime Museum, Southport: “ Confederate Dreams
and British Shipbuilders.” Dr. Max Williams lectures at the Southport
Community Building. 7: 00 P. M. Call ( 910) 957- 0003 for information
concerning admission fees.
March 22 Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex: Arsenal Roundtable: No
Such Army since the Days of Julius Caesar. Co- author Wade Sokolosky
discusses his book on William T. Sherman’s Carolinas Campaign. A book
signing will follow the program. 7: 00 P. M.
March 29 North Carolina Maritime Museum, Southport: Spring into History.
Brenda Mashburn leads a guided tour of Orton Plantation. 10: 00 A. M. to
12: 00 P. M. Call ( 910) 457- 0003 for reservations and rates.
March 30 Museum of the Albemarle: A Student’s Day on the River. Annual
event features educational presentations about the maritime history of
the Albemarle region, designed for third through fifth grade students.
10: 00 A. M. to 3: 00 P. M. Registration required; call ( 252) 335- 1453 for
further information.
March 31 Horne Creek Living Historical Farm: Before Easter Baskets, There
Were Rabbits’ Nests. Children learn to construct a nineteenth- century
rabbit’s nest, dye eggs with natural dyes, and participate in egg rolling and
Easter egg hunts. 11: 00 A. M. to 3: 00 P. M.
State Capitol: State Capitol Photo Contest. Judging of photographs
illustrating the theme, “ History Happens Here.” Photos must have been
taken by amateur photographers within North Carolina during the past
calendar year to be eligible. Deadline for entries is March 23 at 5: 00 P. M.
All entries will be displayed in the Capitol until April 27. For further details
and a complete set of rules, visit www. ncstatecapitol. org.
April 1 Roanoke Island Festival Park: Dare County High Schools Art Show.
Opening reception for annual month- long display of student artwork in a
variety of media, including photography, paintings, sculpture, and pottery.
4: 00 to 6: 00 P. M. The exhibit will run through April 27.
April 5 North Carolina Maritime Museum, Southport: Spring into History. Jack
Fryar examines the colonial history of the Cape Fear Region. 10: 00 A. M. to
12: 00 P. M. Call ( 910) 457- 0003 for reservations and rates.
Colleges and Universities
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Dr. John David Smith, the Charles H. Stone Distinguished Professor of American His-tory,
received the Richard H. Collins Award from the Kentucky Historical Society in
November. The award, named for one of the pioneers of Kentucky historiography, is
presented annually to the author of the most outstanding article in The Register of the Ken-tucky
Historical Society, one of the oldest historical journals in the country. Smith’s article,
“ ‘ To hue the line and let the chips fall where they may’: J. Winston Coleman’s Slavery
Times in Kentucky Reconsidered,” appeared in the autumn 2005 issue of The Register. He
previously won the award, which includes a plaque and a cash prize of $ 1,000, in 1988.
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Last spring, Dr. Robert W. Brown received the University of North Carolina Board of
Governors Award for Teaching Excellence, while Dr. Charles Beem and Dr. Jeff Freder-ick
were among the winners of the university’s awards for excellence. Dr. Stephen Berry
received a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship for the 2006- 2007 aca-demic
year. On June 30, Dr. Manuel Conley was named professor emeritus, and Dr. Julie
Smith resigned. There were four additions to the history faculty, effective August 15:
Dr. Louis Kyriakoudes was appointed associate professor; Dr. Jeffrey Lucas and Dr. Rose
Stremlau were named assistant professors; and Anthony Johnson was appointed lecturer.
Dr. Mark Thompson was granted faculty leave for the fall 2006 semester.
Wake Forest University
In October, Dr. J. Edwin Hendricks received the Archie K. Davis Award, presented by
the Wachovia Historical Society to honor significant contributions to regional and cultural
history, and was elected vice- president of the Historical Society of North Carolina. He
will be on a Reynolds Research sabbatical in the spring of 2007 to research and write a
one- volume history of the university.
State, County, and Local Groups
Greensboro Historical Museum
On October 7, the museum unveiled its new three- thousand- square- foot permanent
exhibit, Welcome to the Gate City! The interactive display illustrates the dynamic decades
around the turn of the twentieth century when Greensboro was transformed from a sleepy
southern town into a bustling city of the New South. The exhibit features re- creations of
Hotel Clegg, which prospered in the late 1890s in its prime location across the street from
the new Southern Railway Company passenger depot; the Richardson and Fariss Drug-store,
notable as the original dispensary of Vick’s Family Remedies; Miss Lina Porter’s
one- room schoolhouse, where her nephew William Sydney Porter received the bulk of
his formal education; the Crystal Theatre, the first motion picture theater in Greensboro; a
telephone exchange; and a fire house. Major funding for the exhibit was provided by the
Cemala Foundation, and the Estates of Reed and Martha DeVane and Marion Stedman
Covington. Malone Design/ Fabrication of Georgia collaborated with museum staff
members to design the display.
3 4 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
Lower Cape Fear Historical Society
The society marked its fiftieth anniversary on November 1 with a festive dinner in the
Warwick Center at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Excerpts from con-gratulatory
letters from Senators Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr, Gov. Mike Easley, and
State Senator Julia Boseman were printed in the program. Dr. Alan Watson, vice- chair of
the North Carolina Historical Commission and former member of the society’s board,
delivered greetings from the State and wishes for continued success. Current board mem-ber
Marjorie Way presented John Golden, president of the society, the Albert Ray
Newsome Award that she had accepted on its behalf from the Federation of North
Carolina Historical Societies on October 27.
North Caroliniana Society
The society has added two titles to its ongoing publication series, North Caroliniana Soci-ety
Imprints. Volume 39 is a softbound facsimile of Needham Bryan Cobb’s classic, Political
Geography of North Carolina, first published in 1887 by Riverside Press, Cambridge. For
several decades, the little volume of poems was used as a textbook in North Carolina pub-lic
schools, and this reprint edition includes an article by W. H. Jones describing the
book’s influence upon generations of schoolchildren. The limited edition of four hundred
numbered copies retains the illustrations and unorthodox pagination of the original. Betty
Ray McCain’s remarks upon her acceptance of the North Caroliniana Society Award in
April 2006, together with tributes from several friends, family members, and colleagues,
have been published as The Goodliest Land, volume 40 of the imprint series. The former
secretary of the Department of Cultural Resources, known as North Carolina’s “ cultural
ambassador,” discusses the development of her lifelong interest in state history and culture
from her childhood in Faison. The five hundred numbered copies of this limited edition
are signed by Betty McCain. Each of these new volumes in the imprint series is available
for a $ 25.00 contribution to the nonprofit society. To order, write to the North
Caroliniana Society, UNC Campus Box 3930, Chapel Hill, NC 27514- 3930.
Phoenix Society for African American Research, Inc.
“ An Evening with Dr. Peter M. Ascoli” was presented on July 18 in the Keihin Audi-torium
Atrium at Edgecombe Community College in Tarboro. The event was co-sponsored
by the Phoenix Society for African American Research, Inc., and the Sankofa
Center of Wake Forest. Dr. Ascoli, a grandson of Julius Rosenwald, spoke from his
recently published book about his grandfather’s life and contributions to African American
education in the South. After the presentation, Dr. Ascoli met with numerous former
Rosenwald students and teachers from nineteen eastern North Carolina counties, where
there were a large number of Rosenwald schools. In Edgecombe County alone,
twenty- six Rosenwald schools were constructed between 1921 and 1926, beginning with
White’s Chapel in Speed. Today there are only three surviving Rosenwald structures in
the county: Mount Olive, Dogtown School, and Coakley School.
V O L U M E 5 5 , N U M B E R 1 , J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 3 5
Historical Publications Section
Office of Archives and History
4622 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699- 4622
Telephone ( 919) 733- 7442
Fax ( 919) 733- 1439
www. ncpublications. com
Presorted Standard
U. S. Postage Paid
Raleigh, NC
Permit No. 187
Carolina Comments Jeffrey J. Crow, Editor in Chief
( ISSN 0576- 808X) Kenrick N. Simpson, Editor

Historic Sites Commemorate 140th Anniversary of
Joint Annual Meeting an Occasion for Awards and Lectures
On Friday, October 27, members of the North Carolina Literary and Historical Associ-ation
( NCLHA) and the Federation of North Carolina Historical Societies ( FNCHS) held
their annual meeting at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh. In a departure
from custom, the session began with a joint meeting with the members of the Carolina
Charter Corporation. The opening speaker was David G. Moore, archaeologist and
professor at Warren Wilson College, formerly with the Western Office of Archives and
History, who described his ongoing investigation of the Burke County site of Fort San Juan,
Carolina
Comments
VOLUME 55, NUMBER 1 JANUARY 2007
Published Quarterly by the North Carolina Office of Archives and History
Laurence Avery ( right), professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
accepts the R. Hunt Parker Memorial Award from Jinnie Y. Davis ( left). Earlier in the evening of
October 27, Avery delivered the keynote address to the joint annual meeting of NCLHA and
FNCHS. All images by the Office of Archives and History.
associated with Spanish explorers of the 1560s. Subsequent lectures during the afternoon
and evening dealt with William R. Davie, slavery at the University of North Carolina,
and Paul Green. Following tradition, the evening program culminated with the North
Carolina Book Awards for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and juvenile literature, and
certificates for the year’s best historical organizations.
Kevin Cherry, chairman of the FNCHS, welcomed attendees. The first order of busi-ness
was the presentation by John Batchelor of Greensboro of the 2006 Student Publica-tion
Awards. First place in the high school division of the literary magazine competition
went to W. G. Enloe High School of Raleigh for Stone Soup. Providence High School of
2 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
For the Record
Historical discoveries often are serendipitous. When
Daniel Stowell and Kelly Boston, editors of the Abraham
Lincoln papers, visited the North Carolina State Archives
in October 2006, they examined various collections in
hopes of finding heretofore unknown Lincoln docu-ments.
The State Archives held at least one document
with Lincoln’s signature. The Lincoln editors found
another. In the Governor John W. Ellis papers the editors
discovered a letter to the governor dated March 16, 1861,
and signed by Lincoln as well as by Secretary of State William
Henry Seward. It accompanied a proposed Thirteenth Amendment
to the Constitution. The so- called “ Ghost Amendment” would have prohibited
Congress from interfering or abolishing slavery in any state where it already existed.
Ironically, the Thirteenth Amendment that finally passed in 1865 abolished slavery.
The proposed amendment came at a critical point in the long secession winter
between Lincoln’s election in November 1860 and the firing on Fort Sumter in April
1861. Seven states had already seceded by the time of Lincoln’s inauguration on
March 4. Various efforts to find a compromise by moderates north and south had
failed. The proposed amendment was yet another attempt to hold the Upper South
in the Union and to prevent war. Interestingly, the proposed amendment was not
inconsistent with Lincoln’s position and that of the Republican Party. Abolition of
slavery would not become a war aim until the fall of 1862, when Lincoln issued a
preliminary draft of the Emancipation Proclamation.
The editors of the Lincoln papers stated that they have found only four other cop-ies
of Lincoln’s letter with the proposed Thirteenth Amendment. As is so often the
case, some researchers and archivists knew of the document in the Ellis papers. No
one, however, realized how rare it was. On October 25, appropriately during
Archives Week, the State Archives mounted an exhibit of several highly significant
documents in its collection, including the Lincoln letter and the proposed
amendment.
Coming on the cusp of the Civil War, the amendment never had a chance of pas-sage
by three- fourths of the states, although Ohio and Maryland ratified it in 1861
and 1862, respectively. With the firing on Fort Sumter and Lincoln’s call for troops,
Governor Ellis responded emphatically in a way that ensured the fate of both his state
and the amendment: “ You can get no troops from North Carolina.”
Jeffrey J. Crow
Charlotte received second place for its publication, Roars and Whispers. Third place was
awarded to Northern Vance High School of Henderson for Crinkum- Crankum, and hon-orable
mention went to Myers Park High School of Charlotte for The Pegasus. The win-ner
in the middle school division was Christ Covenant School of Winterville for Soli Deo
Gloria. Second place went to Seventy- First Classical Middle School of Fayetteville for The
Classical Quill and third place to LeRoy Martin Middle School of Raleigh for Illusions.
On behalf of the Historical Society of North Carolina, Michael Hill, the organization’s
treasurer, presented the R. D. W. Connor Award in recognition of the best article to
appear in the North Carolina Historical Review during the preceding year. The winner was
Michelle LeMaster of Lehigh University for “ In the ‘ Scolding Houses’: Indians and the
Law in North Carolina, 1684- 1760,” which appeared in the April 2006 issue of the
Review. The winner of the 2006 Hugh T. Lefler Award for the best paper written by an
undergraduate student was Robert Dawson, formerly of Wingate University ( and now
residing in England), for his paper on “ POWs, African Americans, and Southern Identities
during the Second World War.” Both awards were presented in absentia as neither
recipient was able to attend.
The American Association of University Women ( AAUW) Award for Juvenile Litera-ture,
presented annually since 1953, went to Joyce Moyer Hostetter of Newton for her
book, Blue ( Boyds Mill Press, 2006), the fictional account of a young girl set in the midst
of a real- life polio outbreak
in the western Piedmont.
The award was presented by
Nancy Shoemaker of
Raleigh, president of the
North Carolina Chapter of
the AAUW.
Jeffrey J. Crow, deputy
secretary of the Office of
Archives and History, pre-sented
an American Associa-tion
for State and Local
History ( AASLH) Award of
Merit to Wilbur D. Jones Jr.
of Wilmington for his efforts
to preserve the history of
World War II in the Cape
Fear area. Louise Bailey
Howe of Hendersonville was
also honored with an individ-ual
achievement award for
her many publications on
local history. She was unable
to attend the ceremony. Two
Charlotte museums received in absentia institutional Awards of Merit from the AASLH
for outstanding exhibits: the Charlotte Museum of History, for Solving the Rock House Mys-teries;
and the Levine Museum of the New South, for Purses, Platforms, and Power.
In the second of three afternoon presentations, Harry Watson, professor of history at
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, addressed “ William Richardson Davie
and the University of the People: Ironies and Paradoxes.” After a break, Janis Holder,
V O L U M E 5 5 , N U M B E R 1 , J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 3
Nancy Shoemaker ( right), president of the North Carolina
chapter of the American Association of University Women,
presents the AAUW Award for Juvenile Literature to Joyce
Moyer Hostetter ( left), author of Blue.
university archivist at
the same institution,
discussed “ Turning the
Corner in Search of
Our Past: Slavery and
the Making of the Uni-versity
of North
Carolina.” Both speak-ers
examined the legacy
of slavery at the univer-sity,
in the contexts of
its founding and con-struction.
The after-noon
lectures were
followed by a brief busi-ness
meeting of the
NCLHA, presided over
by association president
Robert G. Anthony Jr.,
curator of the North
Carolina Collection at
Chapel Hill.
In advance of the evening session, a luncheon hosted by Elizabeth F. ( Betsy) Buford,
director of the Division of State History Museums, honored Jo Ann Williford for her lead-ership
of FNCHS, now in its thirtieth year. After a social hour and dinner, Robert
Anthony welcomed the approximately seventy- five guests to the auditorium of the Museum
of History. The fourth annual Keats and Liz Sparrow Keynote Address was delivered by
Laurence Avery, professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In
his talk, titled “ Paul Green’s Legacy,” Avery memorialized the longtime champion of social
justice and civil rights and related Green’s work to the ongoing effort to construct the North
Carolina Freedom Monument. Green himself was president of the NCLHA in 1942- 1943.
The year 2006 marked the twenty- fifth anniversary of his death in 1981.
Award presentations resumed after the keynote address, beginning with the announce-ment
by Kevin Cherry of the Albert Ray Newsome Awards, bestowed annually by the
FNCHS to the historical organizations in North Carolina judged to have conducted the
most comprehensive and outstanding programs in local or community historical activity
during the previous year. Among the winners was the Cashiers Historical Association for
the restoration of the Zachary Tolbert House and sponsorship of an annual symposium,
among a range of other activities. Accepting for the association was Jan Wyatt of Cashiers.
A second Newsome Award was given to the Lower Cape Fear Historical Society for its
half- century of service to promote and preserve the history of the region. Marjorie Way of
Wilmington, a member of the board of directors of the society, accepted the award.
Rebecca Godwin presented the Roanoke- Chowan Award for Poetry to James
Applewhite of Duke University for his Selected Poems ( Duke University Press, 2005).
Applewhite was a previous winner of the award in 1981, 1986, and 1993. Pat Sevier of
the Historical Book Club of Greensboro announced that the winner of the Sir Walter
Raleigh Award for Fiction was Ron Rash of Cullowhee for his novel, The World Made
Straight ( Henry Holt Books, 2006). Accepting on his behalf was Jan Wyatt of Cashiers.
The novel concerns a modern- day teenage boy and the revelations he uncovered in the
4 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
Wilbur D. Jones Jr. ( right), author of two books about home- front
Wilmington during World War II, accepts an AASLH Award of
Merit from Jeffrey J. Crow ( left).
course of an investigation of an incident in western North Carolina during the Civil War
known as the Shelton Laurel Massacre.
Robert Anthony
announced the winner of
the third annual Ragan Old
North State Award for the
year’s best work of nonfic-tion,
regardless of topic, by a
North Carolina author. Tak-ing
the honor was Clyde
Edgerton of Wilmington for
Solo: My Adventures in the Air
( Algonquin Books of Chapel
Hill, 2005). In accepting the
award, Edgerton briefly
addressed the group on the
joys of writing. A previous
winner of the Sir Walter
Raleigh Award for Fiction,
he became only the third
writer ( after John Ehle and
Tim McLaurin) to win both
the association’s fiction and
nonfiction awards. More
about the North Carolina
Book Awards may be found at
http:// www. ah. dcr. state. nc. us/ affiliates/ lit- hist/ awards/ awards. htm.
The R. Hunt Parker Memorial Award, bestowed annually by the NCLHA for signifi-cant
lifetime contributions to the literary heritage of North Carolina, went to Laurence
Avery, the evening’s keynote speaker. Jinnie Y. Davis of Cary made the presentation. The
award honors Parker, former chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, who had
an avid interest in literature and North Carolina history.
V O L U M E 5 5 , N U M B E R 1 , J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 5
For the fourth time in
twenty- five years, James
Applewhite ( left) receives
the Roanoke- Chowan
Award for Poetry at the
North Carolina Book
Awards ceremony.
Rebecca Godwin ( right)
makes the presentation at
the North Carolina
Museum of History.
Clyde Edgerton ( right) became only the third writer to win both
the fiction and nonfiction awards from NCLHA. Association
president Robert G. Anthony Jr. ( left) presents the 2006 Sir
Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction to Edgerton.
In the final ceremony of the evening, Jerry C. Cashion, chairman of the North
Carolina Historical Commission, presented the Christopher Crittenden Memorial Award
to the University of North Carolina Press, in recognition of its long- standing tradition of
publishing works on North Carolina history. The timing, it was noted, was appropriate, as
early copies of the long- awaited Encyclopedia of North Carolina, the culmination of years of
work by editor William S. Powell and the press staff, had arrived at the Museum of His-tory
bookstore that very afternoon. Accepting on behalf of UNC Press were editors David
Perry and Kate Torrey. The award, presented annually since 1970, recognizes lifetime
contributions to the preservation of North Carolina history and honors Crittenden, direc-tor
of the Department of Archives and History from 1935 to 1968.
Successful Dive Marks Ten- Year Anniversary of QAR Discovery
At the approach of the ten- year anniversary of the discovery of shipwreck site
31CR314, believed to be that of Blackbeard’s flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge ( QAR),
all of the components are finally in place to begin a major excavation designed to fully
document, recover, transport, catalogue, and store the entire assemblage of artifacts and
the information it contains. Those necessary components consist of a thorough under-standing
of the shipwreck and its condition, a long- term state appropriation to support a
professional project staff, a fully equipped conservation facility, and major funding with
which to get started. The first leg of fieldwork was carried out from October 2 to Novem-ber
8. The work was greatly enhanced by the return of experienced project archaeologists
from the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the Office of State Archaeology and the
North Carolina Maritime Museum at Beaufort. They were joined by several very talented
new members: John Masters, Anne Corscaden, Steve Lambert, and Franklin Price. The
five- and- a- half- week expedition would not have been possible without the support of the
North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, which provided the use of a research vessel;
the U. S. Coast Guard facility at Fort Macon, which offered vessel berthing and operations
staging; East Carolina University, site of the project conservation facility, which also fur-nished
vessel support and graduate student assistants; Fort Macon State Park and the Com-fort
Inn at Morehead City, sources of housing; the North Carolina Maritime Museum at
Beaufort and Intersal, Inc., providers of public communications; and Olympus Dive
Center and Discovery Dive, Inc., for dive services.
6 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
On behalf of the staff of the University of North Carolina Press, editors David Perry ( left) and Kate
Torrey ( right) accept the Christopher Crittenden Memorial Award from Jerry C. Cashion ( center),
chairman of the North Carolina Historical Commission.
The team completed full excavation and recovery of sixty- eight 5- by- 5- foot units,
located at the offshore side of the shipwreck, beginning at the vessel’s stern and proceeding
toward the center of the site. This area, where the captain’s cabin and the ship’s armory
were located, was expected to provide a rich assemblage of artifacts, and the divers were
not disappointed. By the end of the project, tens of thousands of artifacts, mostly lead shot
of all sizes, had been recovered. Among the more exciting finds were buckles from shoes
and possibly from a bandolier, a belt for carrying weapons, worn across the shoulder; a
small bronze cannon that may have been a signal gun; pieces of a silver spoon; a mechani-cal
jack; a brass rooster finial; and a fair amount of gold dust. Many more artifacts are
encased in concretion and have yet to reveal their identity, which will be determined in
the coming months through x- radiography and cleaning. Of what was immediately
recognizable, though, perhaps the most exciting find was a brass coin weight used to
authenticate gold coins. This stunning piece features the well- preserved bust of Queen
Anne ( 1702- 1714) and thus ties the shipwreck directly to her namesake.
All of the recovered arti-facts
were taken to the
QAR conservation lab at
East Carolina University,
where they will enter a
lengthy period of cleaning,
conservation, and analysis
before returning to Beaufort
for display at the North
Carolina Maritime
Museum. With storms con-tinually
affecting the
exposed remains at the
QAR site, the project team
plans to return in the spring
to continue full recovery
operations. If funding
allows, complete recovery
should take three to four
years, followed by a decade
or more of conservation.
Popular interest continues at a high level as the Department of Cultural Resources leads
the exploration of what are likely to be the only physical remains tied directly to the inter-nationally
recognized pirate, Edward Teach, alias Blackbeard. For more information, visit
the project website at www. qaronline. org.
Tryon Palace Acquires Valuable Civil War Objects
The palace has recently made three significant additions to its growing collection of
Civil War- era artifacts, two of them acquired from the private collection of noted North
Carolina artist Bob Timberlake. These items include a rare Confederate infantry drum, a
briar pipe, and a portrait of a young cavalry officer from Craven County.
Constructed in 1861 by Edwin Clayton, a cabinetmaker working in Asheville, the
drum body was made of thin layers of wood glued and then rolled around a form to give
them shape. The overlapping pieces of wood were then attached with parallel rows of
tacks, with a reinforced decorative tack circle in between. The body of the drum was
painted a deep rich red, and the top and bottom hoops that secure the heads were painted
V O L U M E 5 5 , N U M B E R 1 , J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 7
Images from the recent excavation of the shipwreck believed to be
the Queen Anne’s Revenge ( clockwise from upper left): a diver loads
artifacts into a recovery basket; a piece of a red earthenware oil jar
rim attached to a concretion; part of a blue ironstone plate that
washed into the site during a storm; and a copper tube of
unknown usage.
blue to signify that it was an infantry
drum. On the side of the drum the
words, “ The Old North State,”
encircle a five- pointed star. The
upper or batter head is made of
cowhide secured with two wooden
hoops, and the lower or snare head,
also held in place by a pair of hoops,
is made of sheepskin. A series of six
to eight gut strings was pulled
tightly against the snare head to ren-der
the characteristic resonance of a
snare drum.
Apart from the unusual construc-tion
methods used to fabricate this
instrument are several intriguing
inscriptions found on the drumheads
and on the inside walls of the drum.
On the bottom head is written in a
clear hand, “ Captured at the battle
of Newbern N. C. March 14 1862,
21st Mass Vols.” The movements of the 21st Massachusetts Regiment during the Battle of
New Bern have been clearly delineated, so one can almost visualize the drum being
wrenched from the hands of a young Confederate drummer in the heat of battle as the
Union army advanced on New Bern.
As for the captor of the drum, palace researchers have developed a clear understanding
of his likely identity by examining another set of inscriptions. On the inside bottom head
is inscribed, “ L. L. Lamb/ Fichburg Mass.” and the letters “ L. L. L.” in a serrated cartouche.
Research into the 1860 census records for Worcester County, Massachusetts, reveals a
twenty- one- year- old L. Lamb working as a mechanic in the town of Fitchburg. Military
service records in the National Archives list a Pvt. Levi L. Lamb in Company D of the
21st Massachusetts Infantry.
Additional war records show that Levi L. Lamb, musician, was discharged in Akron,
Ohio, after serving two years, ten months, and seven days in the 21st and 36th regiments
of Massachusetts Volunteers. The 1880 census records of Crawford County, Pennsylvania,
indicate that Levi L. Lamb was living in that county with his mother Hannah, wife Jane,
and sons Harvey and Osborn. Unfortunately, later court records from Crawford County
reveal a Levi L. Lamb certified as a “ habitual drunkard.”
When the drum became available through auction of the collection of North Carolina
artist Bob Timberlake at Brunk Auctions of Asheville, Tryon Palace staff members began
work to authenticate the instrument and its provenance. At the same time, Tryon Palace
Commission members began the process of securing the necessary funds to purchase the
drum. After the auctioneer’s hammer fell to conclude successful bidding by the palace rep-resentative,
auctioneer Robert Brunk announced that the drum had been purchased by
Tryon Palace and would be returning to New Bern. There was a spontaneous round of
applause from the approximately three to four hundred attendees, all pleased that the drum
would become part of North Carolina’s public history.
Another recent addition to the palace’s Civil War collection is a hand- carved pipe bowl
with high relief carvings of flowers and vines. What attracted the Palace’s attention were
8 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
This 1861 Confederate infantry drum, constructed in
Asheville and captured by a Federal soldier at the Battle
of New Bern, was purchased at auction by Tryon Palace
Historic Sites & Gardens from the collection of artist Bob
Timberlake.
inscriptions carved on the bowl—“ New Berne” on the front and “ 1864” above the stem
hole on the back. The pipe bowl is also from Bob Timberlake’s vast collection of Civil
War memorabilia.
The third Civil War- era object is a small, bust- length likeness of a young Confederate
officer. The portrait, identified as George Stanley Dewey of Craven County, is an oil- on-paper
( rather than the traditional oil- on- canvas) mounted in a shadow- box frame. The
portrait descended in the Dewey and London families through George Dewey’s sister,
Emily Hall ( Dewey) Claypoole, to Dewey London and Lawrence F. London Sr.
Born in New Bern on September 20, 1841, George Stanley Dewey was the fourth
child and eldest son of Oliver Stanley Dewey and Matilda ( Sparrow) Dewey. Little is
known of young Dewey’s early years. He was a member of the Yale College class of 1863
but left Yale in 1861 to enlist in the North Carolina cavalry. His choice of Yale over one
of the North Carolina colleges probably reflects the fact that his paternal grandmother,
Mary Judd Stanley, and her family were longtime residents of central Connecticut.
On June 29, 1861, nineteen- year- old George Dewey enlisted in the company of
volunteers from Goldsboro and Wayne County that would become Company H of the
First North Carolina Cavalry ( Ninth Regiment North Carolina State Troops). By early
August, the company moved to Camp Beauregard in Warren County, the regular school
of cavalry instruction, where the regiment was organized. Dewey began his military career
as a private, but was promoted to first lieutenant in January 1864 and to captain in August,
a rank he held until his death.
Several of Dewey’s letters to his family are preserved in the Southern Historical
Collection in the Manuscripts Department of Wilson Library at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. Writing to his mother and his sister, Emily Hall Dewey
( 1845- 1930), Dewey described his life as a soldier, including regimental movements and
skirmishes. He also described his feelings concerning the progress of the war; despite
Confederate setbacks, Dewey remained optimistic.
George Stanley Dewey died on the battlefield of Chamberlain’s Run near Dinwiddie
Court House, Virginia, on March 31, 1865, just ten days before the Confederate surrender
at Appomattox. He was one of the last Craven County soldiers killed in action in the
Civil War.
State Archives Acquires Letter to Governor- elect Vance
The North Carolina State Archives has obtained a letter written to Zebulon B. Vance
within days of his election as governor, congratulating him on his victory at the polls and
recommending a mutual friend to an important public office. The author of the August 10,
1862, letter was Sgt. C. G. Davenport of Company F, Eleventh North Carolina Troops
( which he refers to as the “ Special Bethel” regiment), then stationed at Camp Lamb near
Wilmington. Davenport was a resident of Chowan County, where he had enlisted in state
service in February, at the age of thirty- one. As he indicated in his letter to Vance, he had
been a Whig editor in New Bern and Edenton before the war, sharing the political senti-ments
of the governor- elect.
Davenport wrote on behalf of Dr. EdwardWarren ( 1828- 1893), the son of Dr. William C.
Warren of Edenton. The younger Warren was well educated, having studied at Fairfax
Institute near Alexandria, Virginia, the University of Virginia, Jefferson Medical College in
Philadelphia, and in Paris. He returned to Edenton in 1855 to practice medicine with his
father. Two years later, he became the first editor of the Medical Journal of North Carolina.
V O L U M E 5 5 , N U M B E R 1 , J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 9
When the war broke out, Dr. Warren was a member of the faculty of the University of
Maryland in Baltimore, but he resigned his position and returned to his native state.
In March 1862, Col. Zebulon Vance led his Twenty- sixth North Carolina Regiment
into its trial by fire at the Battle of New Bern. Dr. Warren was then on duty in Goldsboro
with the State Board of Medical Examiners, but volunteered for military service in the
emergency that followed the Confederate retreat from New Bern. Vance and Warren
became acquainted and were soon fast friends. So when Sergeant Davenport recom-mended
to the newly elected governor
his friend Dr. Warren for the post of
surgeon general of North Carolina, it
likely confirmed a thought already taking
shape in Vance’s mind; at the very least,
the suggestion was a seed that found fer-tile
soil. In any event, the appointment
was made on September 13.
The Davenport letter was advertised
for sale on e- Bay, where it attracted the
attention of Charlene Cook of Raleigh.
Ms. Cook contacted James Sorrell, head
of the Special Collections Branch of the
Archives and Records Section, who noti-fied
State Archivist Dick Lankford.
Because the letter was written and
received before Vance assumed the office
of governor, the Archives could not claim
it as a public record. But all agreed that
the historical significance of the docu-ment
merited its acquisition, if possible.
The Friends of the Archives, the support
group of the State Archives, provided the
necessary funds to purchase the letter.
Highway Historical Marker Commemorates Leonard Medical School
On October 11, Shaw University in Raleigh hosted a dedication ceremony for a North
Carolina highway historical marker about Leonard Medical School, once a part of Shaw.
Leonard Medical School opened in 1882 with a thirty- four- room dormitory and a class-room
building. While four medical schools for African Americans predated it, Leonard
was the first in the United States to offer a four- year graded curriculum of the sort used
today. Before closing its doors in 1918 because of financial difficulties, the school trained
four hundred African American physicians.
The ceremony began with a convocation in the Thomas J. Boyd Chapel with Shaw’s
president, Dr. Clarence G. Newsome, officiating. Following the service, Lisbeth Evans,
secretary of the Department of Cultural Resources, and deputy secretaries Jeffrey Crow
and Staci Meyer joined seven other departmental employees in a walk to the Leonard
Medical School classroom building, accompanied by festive music provided by the Shaw
University marching band. Dr. Todd Savitt, professor of medical history at East Carolina
University, presented a slide show about the school on the third floor of the restored
Leonard Hall. Secretary Evans and Michael Hill, supervisor of the Research Branch,
addressed the crowd before the marker was unveiled by a descendant of the founder of the
1 0 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
The first page of a three- page letter to
Governor- elect Zebulon B. Vance that was
recently obtained by the North Carolina State
Archives.
medical school. The marker stands in front of Leonard Hall on Wilmington Street, just
north of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in downtown Raleigh.
State Archivist Dick Lankford Receives Thornton W. Mitchell Award
On October 13, at the fall meeting of the
Society of North Carolina Archivists in Char-lotte,
Jesse R. ( Dick) Lankford was presented the
Thornton W. Mitchell Service Award by
Jeffrey J. Crow, deputy secretary of the Office of
Archives and History. Established in 2003, the
award recognizes “ an individual who has dem-onstrated
outstanding service to the archival pro-fession
in the state of North Carolina by
promoting public awareness, appreciation, or
support of cultural heritage institutions, preserv-ing
historical and cultural resources, providing
leadership in archival organizations or associa-tions,
or teaching, training, or mentoring new
members of the archival profession.” Lankford
has worked in the archival profession for
thirty- seven years, serving as a records analyst in
South Carolina, and as the iconographic archi-vist,
assistant state archivist, and currently state
archivist and records administrator at the North
Carolina State Archives. He has taught public
history at North Carolina State University for
more than twenty years, mentoring numerous
public historians. For the third recipient of this award, named in honor of a previous state
archivist of North Carolina, the society could not have selected anyone more deserving
than Dick Lankford.
V O L U M E 5 5 , N U M B E R 1 , J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 1 1
This highway historical
marker in front of restored
Leonard Hall in downtown
Raleigh was unveiled and
dedicated at a ceremony on
October 11.
State archivist and records administrator
Jesse R. ( Dick) Lankford ( right) accepts the
Society of North Carolina Archivists’
Thornton W. Mitchell Service Award
from Jeffrey J. Crow ( left).
Museum of the Albemarle to Host Civil War Symposium
On February 9 and 10, scholars from across the southeast and the mid- Atlantic states
will gather at the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City to discuss the often- over-looked
Burnside Expedition of 1862. Dr. Richard A. Sauers, a recognized authority on
the campaign and author of A Succession of Honorable Victories: The Burnside Expedition in
North Carolina, will deliver the keynote address for The Burnside Expedition, 1862: A
Symposium, at the opening dinner on Friday evening. On Saturday morning, a series of
four hour- long lectures will begin with Christopher Meekins, correspondence archivist at
the North Carolina State Archives, presenting “ Interval of War: Local Response from the
Fall of Hatteras to the Burnside Expedition.” R. Matthew Poteat, assistant professor of
history at Central Virginia Community College, will then discuss “ ‘ We have disarmed
ourselves to arm you’: Governor Henry T. Clark and the Defense of Coastal North
Carolina.” The lectures will continue in the afternoon with Jim Gaddis of the Lenoir
County Historical Association presenting “ Slander of the Commander: North Carolina’s
Brigadier General Richard C. Gatlin and the Burnside Expedition.” Richard A. Law-rence,
supervisor of the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the Office of State Archaeol-ogy,
will conclude the symposium with a discussion of “ Underwater Archaeology of the
Burnside Expedition.” Reservations for the symposium are required by January 26. The
Friday evening session, which begins at 6: 00 P. M., costs $ 25.00 per person and includes a
dinner of barbecue, fried chicken, and the fixings. The cost for the four Saturday lectures
is $ 25.00 per person with registration beginning at 9: 00 A. M. and the lectures at 9: 30.
Registrants may attend both sessions for $ 40.00. In conjunction with the symposium, the
museum’s annual Civil War living history program will be held on the Museum Green.
For reservations or additional information, call ( 252) 335- 1453.
Archives and History Employees Join Worksite Wellness Activities
The Worksite Wellness Committee of the Department of Cultural Resources ( DCR)
is encouraging Office of Archives and History staff members to exercise and reduce stress.
The committee, part of a statewide initiative of the State Health Plan, helped to produce a
downtown Raleigh area walking map. A kick- off event held to highlight the map featured
walking tours of historic neighborhoods, led by Claudia Brown and Ann Swallow of the
Survey and Planning Branch of the State Historic Preservation Office. About fifty- five
DCR employees participated in four walks of varying lengths. A prize drawing followed
the walks, and all participants were rewarded with a special “ DCR Bodies in Motion”
sports bottle. The Worksite Wellness Committee also offers a yoga class, taught by Matt
Waehner of the Collections Management Branch of the Archives and Records Section,
1 2 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
Susan Myers ( front left) of the Office
of State Archaeology and Denise
Craig ( front right) of the Historical
Publications Section, two members
of the DCR Worksite Wellness
Committee, lead a group of
departmental employees on a walk
through downtown Raleigh.
every Monday at noon in the auditorium of the Archives and History/ State Library Build-ing.
The committee hung posters that urge people to “ move more” by taking the
stairs— conspicuously placed next to all elevator stops in the Jones Street facility. More
walks and activities are planned for the coming months. Representing the Office of
Archives and History on the departmental committee are Chris Black of the Archives and
Records Section, Denise Craig of the Historical Publications Section, Juliana Hoekstra of
the State Historic Preservation Office, Susan Myers of the Office of State Archaeology,
and Ansley Herring Wegner of the Research Branch.
News from Historical Resources
Archives and Records Section
On most days George Stevenson works quietly and industriously on the third floor of
the Archives and History/ State Library Building, rummaging through stacks of manu-scripts,
photographs, and personal papers, bringing order to the Archives’ private manu-scripts
collections. For more than thirty- six years, George has mined the Archives and
arranged and described its collections, shaping a precious institutional memory that is
unique and valued among his fellow archivists. In November, George was honored with
the Order of the Longleaf Pine for his years of service, but particularly for the important
role he played in securing North Carolina’s copy of the Bill of Rights. The Order of the
Longleaf Pine is the highest civilian honor that can be awarded by the State of North
Carolina and is presented to individuals who have a record of extraordinary service to the
state. George was recognized for his length of service, depth of experience, and expertise
in the field of archives.
It was the diligent work of George Stevenson in verifying the filing endorsement on the
back of the Bill of Rights that strengthened North Carolina’s claim to a document that
was stolen from the State Capitol more than 140 years ago. A filing endorsement in the
colonial period was usually a handwritten notation on the back of a document reflecting
its identity, sometimes recording the date of receipt or the date of creation. North
Carolina’s copy of the Bill of Rights is one of fourteen original copies and was claimed by
both the State of North Carolina and two collectors who had purchased the document.
The only identifying mark on the back of the contested Bill of Rights was its handwritten
endorsement. The question became: whose handwriting was it?
Enter George Stevenson Jr. with years of experience with colonial and post- Revolu-tionary
War records, paper, and handwriting. For weeks, he searched archival documents
looking for handwriting that would match the filing endorsement on the back of the Bill
of Rights. After rejecting several possibilities, George became aware of one Pleasant
Henderson, a Granville County native who had served as a clerk in the 1789 Assembly,
assistant clerk to the House of Commons during the 1795 session of the Assembly, and
V O L U M E 5 5 , N U M B E R 1 , J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 1 3
private secretary to Gov. Alexander Martin and clerk to the Council of State from 1781 to
1784. By comparing Henderson’s handwriting on other documents with the notations on
the back of the Bill of Rights, George determined that indeed the document had once
been accessioned and owned by the state. His videotaped affidavit attesting to the
identification will be heard as the trial for ownership proceeds.
In presenting the award to George, Dr. Jeffrey Crow, deputy secretary of the Office of
Archives and History, noted: “ George Stevenson is the indispensable archivist. For four
decades he has provided researchers with expert advice and direction. I count myself
among George’s many devoted fans.”
Stevenson began his archival career with the North Carolina Collection at the Univer-sity
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1965. He moved to the State Archives in 1970.
During the seventies, he worked in England and Scotland identifying and arranging for the
copying of documents with relevance to colonial North Carolina. From 1977 to 1988, he
was head of reference services in the Search Room, where he trained the next generation
of archivists, many of whom are still in service with the Office of Archives and History.
Since 1989, he has been head of the private manuscripts collection.
In November, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission ( NHPRC)
awarded the North Carolina State Archives, the Kentucky State Library and Archives, and
the Pennsylvania State Archives an eighteen- month grant for an Electronic Mail Preserva-tion
Collaboration Initiative. This project will build on work done in 2005 by North
Carolina under an NHPRC fellows grant to develop a collection and preservation tool for
official electronic correspondence in government. Kelly Eubank, electronic records archi-vist
at the North Carolina State Archives, will be the project manager.
There are four main goals of the initiative: to continue the development of e- mail pres-ervation
software to convert attachments from their native formats into a more stable
XML format, and complete written documentation for the program; to test the software
to determine its scalability, efficiency, and employee compliance, using records retention
schedules; to produce different types of training methodologies, including web- based
training, implementing work already under development by the Pennsylvania State
Archives; and to test the feasibility of various ways of providing access to XML files,
1 4 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
Jeffrey J. Crow ( left), deputy secretary of the Office of Archives and History, presents the Order of
the Longleaf Pine to archivist George Stevenson Jr. ( right) in recognition of his many years of
exceptional service to the State Archives.
whether through existing online catalogs, a third- party vendor, or web interfaces. The end
result should provide state agencies and the state records program in the Archives with a
tool for the collection and preservation of electronic mail. Hopefully, for the user, it will
mimic their current desktop client; for example, if they use Microsoft Outlook, there will
be a folder in their folder structure titled “ Archives,” and when they drag and drop e- mail
into that folder, the correspondence will be sent automatically to a server in the State
Archives. The hope is that by appropriating current behaviors, archivists will have a better
mechanism for collecting and preserving permanently valuable correspondence that might
otherwise be destroyed. While this process will require some technical support to set up, it
will require little additional action once in place. The project partners would like to test
compliance of records creators to retention schedules for e- mail and see how that
compares to acceptance and use of schedules governing traditional paper records.
The North Carolina State Historical Records Advisory Board ( SHRAB) was also
awarded funding by the NHPRC for a two- year awareness and education program. The
purpose of the Disaster Preparedness Training for Documentary Institutions program is to
provide statewide education, resources, and guidance to North Carolina’s documentary
and cultural repositories for the development and dissemination of disaster preparedness
plans ( DPPs), with the ultimate goal of better protecting collections during natural or
human- caused disasters. The objectives of the project are to identify and involve stake-holders—
disaster preparedness personnel, emergency management and recovery employ-ees,
and cultural resources management— in the process of providing education and hands-on
training opportunities in disaster preparedness; create, build, and strengthen networks
among emergency management and cultural resources personnel; provide resources, tools,
and guidance to repositories in developing DPPs; and disseminate information about
disaster preparedness planning through several communication channels. The SHRAB
grant will be used to ensure that North Carolina documentary repositories understand the
importance of developing DPPs; are given the tools, training, resources, and guidance to
develop appropriate plans; and are provided with strong networks of support.
The State Archives is home to the large collection of Reginald A. Fessenden Papers
( P. C. 1140), and the centennial of Fessenden’s historic trans- Atlantic radio transmission
was noted on December 24, 2006. Kim Cumber, of the Non- textual Materials Unit of the
Special Collections Branch, worked with Ashley Yandle of the Information Technology
Branch, and Matt Waehner and Alan Westmoreland of the Collections Management
Branch, to compile a photo gallery of selected images from the Fessenden Papers depicting
Reginald A. Fessenden and his pioneering work in radio technology. On November 1,
the photo gallery went live on the State Archives’ website, http:// www. ah. dcr. state. nc. us/
archives/ photos/ fessenden/ index_ fessenden. htm.
Historical Publications Section
The Moravians of Piedmont North Carolina have left their indelible stamp on the cul-ture
of the state. A new volume of edited church diaries and minute books kept by
Moravian ministers provides insight into life in their communities in the volatile years
immediately after the Civil War.
The published series of Records of the Moravians in North Carolina has provided historians,
genealogists, and casual readers with firsthand, almost daily, accounts of life in the state
stretching back to colonial times. The new volume 13 covers the years 1867 to 1876, a
momentous period in North Carolina history— the era of Reconstruction, the aftermath
of and recovery from the Civil War. Edited by C. Daniel Crews and Lisa D. Bailey, this
volume examines the accommodation of whites and blacks as they adjusted to new roles
V O L U M E 5 5 , N U M B E R 1 , J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 1 5
following the end of slavery. Other topics include the tattered postwar economy, the
renewed growth of the communities of Salem and Winston, the incorporation of the
town of Kernersville, and the advance of the railroad through Moravian land. The volume
is indexed and contains a foldout map of Salem and Winston in 1876. Appendixes record
births, baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials in the Moravian communities. The text is
illustrated with pictures of Moravian buildings, people, and celebrations, such as the Home
Church in Salem decorated for Christmas, ca. 1909.
C. Daniel Crews is a native of Winston- Salem and a graduate of High Point University.
He earned graduate degrees from Moravian Theological Seminary, the University of
North Carolina at Greensboro, and the University of Manchester. An ordained Moravian
minister, Crews has been archivist of the Moravian Church, Southern Province, since
1991. Lisa D. Bailey is a native of Raleigh. She received a B. A. degree in English from
Meredith College and is an editor with the Historical Publications Section. She has applied
her editorial skills to many publications on North Carolina history during her more than
twenty years with the section.
Volume 13 of Records of the Moravians in North Carolina
( clothbound, illustrated, indexed) ( right) costs $ 53.70, which
includes tax and shipping. Volume 12 of the series, which cov-ers
the years 1856- 1866, is still available at the same price. Both
volumes may be ordered from the Historical Publications Sec-tion
( CC), Office of Archives and History, 4622 Mail Service
Center, Raleigh, NC 27699- 4622. For credit card orders, call
( 919) 733- 7442, or use the section’s secure online store at
http:// store. yahoo. com/ nc- historical- publications/.
For the first time in several years, twelve books by the late
Jo White Linn of Salisbury are available for purchase. Among
these invaluable genealogical research tools are abstracts of
deeds, wills, tax lists, estates records, and census schedules for
Davie, Iredell, Rowan, and Surry counties, as well as two
historical diaries and two family histories. Jo White Linn ( 1930- 2006) was a certified gene-alogist
and an active member of many genealogical and hereditary societies. A prolific
researcher and writer, she published numerous volumes of abstracts of public records for
use by researchers. For sixteen years, she also edited the Rowan County Register.
Specific records abstracted or transcribed include Iredell County tax lists ( 1800, 1815,
1837); Rowan County deeds ( 1753- 1785), wills and estates ( 1753- 1805), tax lists ( 1757-
1800, 1815), and census ( 1850); and Surry County wills ( 1771- 1827). Diaries of Johann
Gottfried Arends ( 1740- 1807) and Elizabeth Dick Lindsay ( 1837- 1861) have also been
reproduced and/ or transcribed. Family histories of the Holmes family of Rowan and
Davidson counties and Nathalie Fontaine Lyons are also available.
The Rowan County Register was published quarterly between 1986 and 2001 with an
annual index. Included in it were Bible records, church records, Civil War letters, family
histories, and maps. Abstracts of Rowan and surrounding counties’ records included
accounts, bills, court minutes, death registers, deeds, estates, land entries, marriage records,
militia lists, naturalizations, pension records, petitions, slave records, tax lists, and wills.
This journal may be purchased by the entire run, by year, or by single issue. A complete
listing and description of each year’s four issues is available only on the section’s online
store.
1 6 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
State Historic Preservation Office
In October Reid Thomas, restoration specialist in the Eastern Office in Greenville, was
awarded the Robert E. Stipe Award at Preservation North Carolina’s annual statewide
conference in Wilmington. The Stipe Award is North Carolina’s highest honor presented
to working professionals who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to historic preser-vation
as part of their job responsibilities. The award is given in honor of Robert E. Stipe
of Chapel Hill, retired educa-tor
in the field of historic
preservation, mentor to gen-erations
of preservation stu-dents,
and former director of
the Division of Archives and
History.
Since joining the Eastern
Office staff in 1990, Reid
Thomas has assisted numer-ous
organizations on the
local, state, and federal levels
with regional preservation
projects, and has provided
local consultation site visits to
hundreds of owners of his-toric
properties, frequently
working beyond regular
office hours. In addition to a
B. S. degree in history from Campbell University, his studies have included field schools at
Poplar Forest ( Thomas Jefferson’s mountain retreat near Lynchburg, Va.), Eastfield Village,
N. Y., and Colonial Williamsburg; and a Quinque Fellowship, which provided funding for a
three- month travel fellowship to study restoration techniques of the Historic Scotland Foun-dation
in 2002.
The staff of the Eastern Office attended the annual meeting of the Gates County His-torical
Society on June 22 to present the 2006 LaRue Mooring Evans Award to Edith
Seiling, in recognition of her many years of leadership and success in promoting historic
preservation in Gates County. As the dedicated longtime president of the Gates County
Historical Society, Mrs. Seiling has been instrumental in educating the county’s citizens to
value and appreciate history and historic preservation. Her legacy includes saving and pre-serving
the historic ca. 1836 Gates County Courthouse, and promoting the long- overdue
county- wide survey of historic buildings that resulted in the publication, Forgotten Gates,
which documents the county’s architectural heritage.
The Eastern Office established the LaRue Mooring Evans Award in 2003 as a means of
recognizing significant contributions to historic preservation by dedicated volunteers
throughout its twenty- six- county region. The award is given each year to an individual in
the region who manifests the virtues and spirit of volunteerism in the fields of history and
historic preservation, as demonstrated by significant individual accomplishments, leader-ship,
cooperation, and the all- important ingredient in any successful preservation project,
tenacity. Staff members named the award in honor of LaRue Mooring Evans of Pitt
County to recognize her leadership roles in two local historical societies, as well as a wide
range of successful projects. She served on the editorial committee for the publication of
V O L U M E 5 5 , N U M B E R 1 , J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 1 7
Reid Thomas ( left) receives the Robert E. Stipe Award from
Denise Barnes ( center), president, and Myrick Howard ( right),
executive director, at Preservation North Carolina’s annual
conference.
the Pitt County Chronicles; chaired the architectural survey and publication committees for
the resulting book, The Historic Architecture of Pitt County, North Carolina; established a
region- wide support group for the Eastern Office and the historic Robert Lee Humber
House; and was instrumental in the restoration of the A. W. Ange House in Winterville.
A silver cup was created for the award and is inscribed with the name of each year’s
recipient. The trophy remains on display for public viewing at the Robert Lee Humber
House in downtown Greenville throughout the year.
News from State Historic Sites and Properties
Museum and Visitor Services Section
In November, chief curator of collections Carol Chamberlain and curator of education
Jann Brown arranged one- day collection management workshops for staff members, con-ducted
by the Chicora Foundation of Columbia, S. C. Founded in 1983, the foundation is
a nonprofit heritage preservation organization whose work includes archaeological and
historical research, public education, and conservation and preservation activities with
museums, libraries, archives, historic organizations, and private citizens. Employees from
the section and most of the twenty- seven state historic sites participated in the workshops.
Division personnel in the eastern part of the state attended sessions at the Charles B.
Aycock Birthplace at Pikeville, while western employees were hosted by the Charlotte
Hawkins Brown Museum in Sedalia. The workshops, designed to help curators, registrars,
archivists, librarians, and other professionals sharpen or refine their skills in collection care
and maintenance, were titled “ Housekeeping for Museums: Things that Heloise
Didn’t Tell You.” Topics included the care that various types of objects should receive
and simple in- house conservation treatments that can be safely performed.
In October, the State Capitol distributed its newest publication, the State Capitol
Foundation newsletter, Anthemion. The full- color quarterly newsletter has been well
received by foundation members and has brought in significant donations that will help
fund educational programs and the continued restoration of the Capitol.
The State Capitol hosted the Governor’s Tree Lighting Ceremony and Holiday Festival
on December 5, kicking off a week of holiday celebrations and the site’s open house. The
traditional lighting of the state Christmas tree was followed by festivities on Capitol Square
and on nearby Bicentennial Plaza, in front of both the Museum of History and the
Museum of Natural Sciences. Musical performances by the St. Mary’s Chorale, the
Raleigh Concert Band, the Wake Med Chorus, the Opera Company of North Carolina,
the Encore Performers, the Sandbox Band, Kindermusik’s Flute Choir, and the
Broughton High School Madrigal Singers highlighted the evening. The Holiday Open
House at the Capitol featured seasonal music performed by local groups in daily concerts
1 8 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
in the rotunda. The Raleigh Garden Club decorated the building to accord with this
year’s theme, “ Trees of the Imagination.”
North Carolina Transportation Museum
Eight transportation pioneers were honored at the North Carolina Transportation Hall
of Fame’s third annual induction and awards ceremony at the museum on October 31.
Two North Carolina women were among the inductees: Emily Brown Blount, a 1954
graduate of North Carolina State University, who was the first woman to be registered as a
professional engineer in the state; and Mary Webb Nicholson of Greensboro, the first
female licensed pilot in North Carolina, who was killed in action while flying with the
British Air Transport Auxiliary during World War II. The other inductees were
Hampton D. Haith, the last general manager of Winston- Salem’s Safe Bus Company, the
largest African American transportation system in the nation during the 1970s; Malcom P.
McLean, founder of McLean Trucking of Winston- Salem and the inventor of
containerized shipping; Carl Mickey Sr., who helped Mickey Truck Bodies grow from a
small operation manufacturing iron rings for wagon wheels in the early 1900s into an
international organization that produces state- of- the- art aluminum bodies and trailers;
Coleman Roberts, founder of
the Carolina Motor Club in
Greensboro, the largest AAA
affiliate in the South; Willis
Slane, a pioneer in fiberglass
boat construction and the
founder of Hatteras Yachts;
and Nello L. Teer Sr., who
built a thriving Durham-based
highway and bridge
construction business.
A special highlight of the
annual Antique Automobile
Club of America car show on
October 14 was the dedica-tion
of the Railway Express
Agency truck. The extensive
restoration of this meticulously detailed vehicle was spearheaded by Lester Brown, a
member of the board of directors of the North Carolina Transportation Museum Founda-tion,
who was assisted by a group of dedicated volunteers. Sadly, Brown passed away
before the dedication ceremony.
Northeastern Historic Sites Section
Historic Edenton’s Beat the Heat: Colonial Coping Strategies guided tour program at
the James Iredell House throughout August was well attended. Other recent programs
included a Constitution Week display at the visitor center, offered in conjunction with the
Edenton Tea Party Chapter, National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolu-tion,
and guided tours that emphasized the roles played by Hugh Williamson and James
Iredell in the adoption of the U. S. Constitution. The site also hosted Colonial Living
History Days for area schoolchildren in October with participation by 585 students in 29
fourth- grade classes. October 5, declared “ James Iredell Day” in Edenton in perpetuity on
the occasion of his 250th birthday in 2001, was honored this year with a lecture and a new
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During the annual Antique Automobile Club of America car
show at the North Carolina Transportation Museum, reenactors
unload packages from the newly restored Railway Express
Agency truck.
exhibit panel at the 1767 Chowan County Courthouse. The lecture was presented by
Historic Edenton staff member Carolyn A. Owens and was promoted through the
Museum of the Albemarle Historic Roundtable Series.
An interpretive sign marking Edenton’s Colonial Park as a member of the National
Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program was unveiled and
dedicated on November 9. Speakers included Edenton mayor Roland Vaughan, Keith
Hardison, director of the Division of State Historic Sites and Properties, and Teresa Watts
of the Division of Tourism, Film, and Sports Development. The event included the
unveiling of the sign by members of the John A. Holmes High School Human Relations
Team, a solo by Glorious Elliott, and a blessing by Rev. Edna Lawrence of Kadesh AME
Zion Church. Historic Edenton site manager Linda Jordan Eure, Chowan County Tour-ism
Development Authority director Nancy Nicholls, and former heritage tourism officer
Ginny Culpepper prepared and submitted the application that resulted in Edenton’s
designation as a Network to Freedom site.
At Historic Bath, the cellar kitchen at the Palmer- Marsh House ( ca. 1751) has received
a much- needed facelift. In the late 1980s, an electrical fire destroyed the roof and portions
of the attic of the house. Subsequent restoration and the installation of the fire suppression
and HVAC systems negatively impacted the cellar kitchen space, with piping and
ductwork marring its historic appearance. The enhancement project has diminished the
intrusiveness of the modern appliances and created a more engaging, appropriate interpre-tation
of the space. The walls, ceiling, pipes, and ductwork were whitewashed, and
period- appropriate lighting was installed. A combination of period and newly acquired
reproduction pieces are being used to interpret the kitchen in a historically authentic fash-ion,
consistent with the household of pre- Revolution, eastern North Carolina gentry. The
kitchen is presently being shown in the midst of preparations for the December 1764 visit
of Gov. William Tryon. The highlight of the interpretation is a reproduction longleaf pine
dresser, which would have been used as a food preparation space and for storage of dishes,
pots, and pans.
A yearlong program for second graders has been instituted at Bath Elementary School.
Students plant and tend several types of gourds that were used in North Carolina, harvest
the plants, and create bowls, dippers, and other utensils from the dried gourds. This pro-gram
has been designed to accord with state curriculum goals in math, science, and
language arts.
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Second- grade students from
Bath Elementary School
examine a dry luffa gourd.
Historic Halifax State Historic Site will soon have another completely restored building
to add to the historic area. The 1838 Jail, which was the third jail built in the town of
Halifax, will be undergoing interior restoration. The Historical Halifax Restoration Asso-ciation,
local support group for the site, is providing the necessary funding for the venture.
The jail was the first building bought by the association in 1954 under the leadership of
Ray Wilkinson, who was its chairman for more than fifty years. His lifelong dream was to
have the jail completely renovated so that visitors could enjoy the unique building. It is
therefore being restored in memory of Wilkinson, who passed away in 2004.
At Somerset Place, temporary braces to support a collapsed foundation pier were
recently installed as one component of a comprehensive engineering study that will lead to
the stabilization of the foundation piers under the Collins family home. The stabilization is
anticipated to cost approximately $ 2.5 million.
Piedmont Historic Sites Section
Alamance Battleground
held the twenty- seventh edi-tion
of its popular Colonial
Living Week during the
week of October 9- 13. The
successful event attracted
1,915 people, which
included 1,104 students from
six Piedmont counties.
Because of the efforts of ded-icated
division staff members
and volunteers, most of
whom were dressed in period
costumes, visitors attending
the five- day educational
program enjoyed a unique
glimpse into backcountry
colonial life. They gained
firsthand knowledge about open- fire cooking, candle making, blacksmithing, cord
waining, cider making, quill- pen writing, spinning, period toys, and black- powder weap-ons,
particularly the crowd- pleasing, once- a- day “ live” firing of the Alamance cannon.
The Alamance staff also hosted the holiday event, A Starry Christmas, on December 10.
Visitors made star decorations and sampled delicious star- shaped foods. They were pro-vided
a copy of an informative program that featured facts regarding the star, its seasonal
significance, and ideas for its use in decorations.
Duke Homestead offered its annual Christmas By Candlelight tours on consecutive
Fridays, December 1 and December 8. Costumed interpreters led visitors down a candle-lit
trail to the 1852 homestead for a mid- nineteenth- century Christmas celebration. Mike
Novak and Steve Vincent played traditional Christmas carols in the parlor, while site staff
members and volunteers served hot apple cider, homemade sugar cookies, and popcorn
that was popped over a bonfire. The Dandies, an instrumental string- music band, per-formed
in the auditorium on December 1, and Sassafras, another local string band, played
instrumental holiday and popular nineteenth- century music on December 8.
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Historic interpreter Royal Windley ( right) explains to a group of
schoolchildren the proper technique for loading a cannon during
the annual Colonial Living Week at Alamance Battleground
State Historic Site.
At the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum, Canary Cottage, Dr. Brown’s campus
home, was decorated as it would have been for Christmas in the 1940s. The site hosted its
annual Christmas celebration on December 10 with performances by local choirs and
musicians.
Roanoke Island Festival Park
In the recently concluded short session of the General Assembly, the park received a
$ 2 million appropriation to fund the implementation of a proposed exhibit enhancement
program. The project will focus upon three goals: the creation of an outdoor, interactive
Native American Village and Cultural Education Center; the redesign of the visitor center
and placement of orientation and educational signage throughout the site; and the expan-sion
of exhibits and activity stations in the Roanoke Adventure Museum. Formulation of
the proposal began in 2005 when the Roanoke Island Commission, which oversees the
park, embarked upon an intensive strategic planning initiative, a process that included
interviews with nearly one hundred stakeholders in the local community. Additional pub-lic
feedback was obtained through a comprehensive guest survey and performance evalua-tion
conducted at the park during 2006. Important goals identified by these processes
included the need to expand the scope and diversity of educational offerings and to more
fully relate the international significance of the first English settlements in North America,
which occurred at Roanoke Island between 1584 and 1587.
On October 16, members of the Roanoke Island Festival Park North Carolina Aquatic
Habitat Restoration and Protection Team were honored for their efforts to transform the
eroding shoreline of the park into a thriving maritime forest, marsh, and oyster habitat,
protected from wave action. Ceremonies were held on the project site at the park.
Brig. Gen. Joseph Schroedel, commander of the South Atlantic Division of the U. S. Army
Corps of Engineers, presented the Chief of Engineers’ Design and Environmental Honor
Award to members of the partnership that restored a fifteen- hundred- foot swath of erod-ing
shoreline, transforming it into a flourishing habitat for oysters, a maritime forest, and a
marsh- grass ecosystem. The winning project was selected by a jury of environmentalists,
engineers, and designers as an outstanding example of environmental restoration.
Participants on the award- winning team included the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Wilmington District; the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural
Resources— Division of Water Resources, Division of Forest Resources, and Division of
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Brig. Gen. Joseph Schroedel of the U. S.
Army Corps of Engineers presented the
Chief of Engineers’ Design and
Environmental Award to members of
the team that restored a portion of the
shoreline at Roanoke Island Festival
Park ( RIFP). Pictured ( left to right) are
John D. Sutherland of the Division of
Water Resources; Scott M. Stroh III,
executive director of RIFP; General
Schroedel; Suzanne Godley, project
manager at RIFP; Carroll Williams,
RIFP facilities manager; Robert W.
Keistler, representing the U. S. Army
Corps of Engineers, Wilmington
District, project delivery team; and
Col. John P. Pulliam, district engineer
of the Wilmington District.
Marine Fisheries; the Roanoke Island Commission/ Roanoke Island Festival Park; the
North Carolina Coastal Federation; U. S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources
Conservation Service— Cape May Plant Materials Center; U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
North Carolina State University Department of Horticulture Science; Carteret Commu-nity
College; the Nature Conservancy; the Town of Manteo; Outer Banks Master Gar-deners;
and various Boy and Girl Scout organizations throughout Dare County.
Southeastern Historic Sites Section
On September 16, the annual Revolutionary War Encampment program at the CSS
Neuse/ Richard Caswell Memorial featured a variety of eighteenth- century activities. Visi-tors
watched musket- firing demonstrations and a British army drill, and enjoyed period
games, nautical displays, cooking, and fashions. On November 18 and 19, the site hosted
its Civil War Navy Living History program. Members of several North Carolina and Vir-ginia
reenactment/ living history organizations demonstrated aspects of period naval life,
including nautical skills, navigational techniques, and daily shipboard living. The Old
South Blacksmiths demonstrated how blacksmith shops in Kinston made various items for
the ship and artillery units.
At the Aycock Birthplace’s Living History Wednesdays during October and November,
interpreters in period attire demonstrated the various chores typically performed around a
nineteenth- century eastern North Carolina farm. On December 5 and 7, the annual Christ-mas
Candlelight Tours allowed visitors to see the ways the holiday was celebrated in the
1870s. With the house and kitchen decorated for Christmas, costumed interpreters discussed
holiday traditions of the period and demonstrated open- hearth cooking, while the Primitive
Baptist Singers entertained guests with traditional carols and old- fashioned gospel music.
At Bentonville Battlefield on December 2, staff members decorated the kitchen with holly
and magnolia branches, cotton stalks, various fruits, and cranberry and popcorn strands in
observance of the annual Christmas festivities. Costumed military interpreters discussed the
activities of the common soldier with friends and family while home on furlough.
Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens
With a generous grant of $ 250,000 from the Wachovia Foundation, Tryon Palace His-toric
Sites & Gardens and the Wachovia Corporation have entered into a five- year part-nership
to support the Palace’s Many Stories, One History initiative. The Wachovia
Foundation, funded by Wachovia Corporation, supports programs that improve the
quality of life and have a positive impact in communities served by Wachovia.
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Artillery batteries deliver a spectacular nighttime volley during the Civil War Navy Living History
program at the CSS Neuse/ Richard Caswell Memorial on November 18.
The foundation’s focus on building inclusive communities found a natural partner in the
Many Stories, One History initiative, which is designed to include everyone’s stories of the
past. Over the next five years, Many Stories, One History will infuse the environment and
programming throughout the historic site with its all- embracing historical message, increas-ingly
expanding in preparation for the opening of the North Carolina History Education
Center in 2010.
Under the auspices of the grant, Catherine Bishir, senior architectural historian for Pres-ervation
North Carolina, has been retained to research African American artisans in central
eastern North Carolina. Bishir is the author of numerous works on the architecture of the
Upper South, including her contributions to North Carolina Architecture. Her research for
Tryon Palace will develop an expanded body of information for program interpretation
and culminate with a book publication in time for New Bern’s three- hundredth anniver-sary,
also in 2010. Other uses of the grant funding in the first two years will include addi-tional
African American research, African American history on the site’s web page, support
for the African American Community Task Force, and diversity training for Tryon Palace
staff members.
The Tryon Palace Council of Friends has secured a $ 3,500 grant from the Greensboro-based
Marion Stedman Covington Foundation to install new lighting in the dining room,
drawing room, and Council Chamber in the palace. The identification of the first two of
these rooms was recently reversed as part of the palace re- interpretation plan. The overall
scheme, based on the discovery of a 1783 letter from palace architect John Hawks to Fran-cisco
de Miranda, is designed to present a more accurate presentation of eighteenth-century
life in New Bern and the palace’s dual role as home of royal governors and capitol
building for the colony ( and subsequently the state). The addition of the new lights will
brighten the rooms while maintaining their historical integrity.
Western Historic Sites Section
The development of educational and interpretive programming at Fort Dobbs has
gained attention statewide and beyond. Site staff members have been in increased demand
for programs on and off- site about the French and Indian War and the soldiers that served
the colony during the fateful years of 1754- 1763. The programs at the fort, reflecting the
N. C. Department of Public Instruction standard course requirements, range from a discus-sion
of the colony’s role in the French and Indian War to interactive programming for
students teaching the rudiments of facings, marching, and wheeling as shown to militia
recruits in 1755. On December 13, historic interpreter Matthew Keagle traveled to
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Packhorses loaded with trade goods
were among the new additions to
this year’s Eighteenth- Century
Trade Faire at Fort Dobbs on
October 7- 8.
Washington, D. C., to take part in the opening of the first major exhibit on the French and
Indian War at the Smithsonian Institution. The exhibit, Clash of Empires, is a detailed and
thorough look at the war across North America and the world. It opened at the Heinz
History Center in Pittsburgh, then traveled to the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa
before beginning a run at the Smithsonian Institution’s Ripley Center in December.
Keagle attended the opening reception, where he provided costumed interpretation of
North Carolina’s role in the war.
In early October, five hundred students challenged their notions of the eighteenth-century
frontier with the special school day programming during the Eighteenth- Century
Trade Faire. Students and educators explored military drill, interacted with traders on
packhorses, learned about blacksmithing, participated in spinning, and experienced an
Indian camp. The two- day trade faire drew more than sixteen hundred visitors who saw
nearly one hundred reenactors bring to life North Carolina’s colonial frontier. Popular
offerings from previous years, such as the Cherokee camp, a blacksmith, and the Cones-toga
wagon, were continued. This year’s event also featured many new programs, provid-ing
a larger assemblage of tradesmen, including a saddler, a leather- breeches maker, and a
shoemaker. Indian traders brought two packhorses to the site to interpret the main means
of transporting goods in the Carolina backcountry. Robert Mouland portrayed Michael
Keane, an Irish harp player who came with Gov. Arthur Dobbs to America and may have
accompanied North Carolina soldiers to New York in 1756. Mouland played a variety of
original and reproduction instruments from the eighteenth century. The culmination of
the event was a new scenario based upon a 1760 account in the South Carolina Gazette of a
Cherokee raid on a Rowan County homestead that ended with a militia company track-ing
and engaging the raiders. The reenactment concluded with a dramatic portrayal of the
usual fate of captives taken by Indian raiding parties.
Support for Fort Dobbs continues to grow as plans for the reconstruction of the 1756
fort advance. The Friends of Fort Dobbs now boasts more than 770 members from nine
states and throughout North Carolina, many of whom celebrated the year’s success and
the importance of the fort in North Carolina’s history at a Candlelight Gala on December 8.
Through the generous support of the Friends, master planning will begin in early 2007 for
long- term designs for the site, beyond reconstruction of the fort.
The Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace is sporting new roofs on both the Vance home and
the slave cabin. Division craftsmen under the leadership of Jay Hayden completed log and
post replacement. The craftsmen also re- glazed the windows on the Vance home and
treated window frames with a sealant. School group visitation has been heavy as a result of
limitations on field trips outside of the county imposed upon Buncombe County schools,
which has allowed many Buncombe teachers to rediscover the Vance Birthplace.
Horne Creek Living Historical Farm had two very successful fall events with the From
Peel to Pie program and the annual Cornshucking Frolic. The frolic allows visitors to
experience many hands- on activities of farm life in 1900 and features many wonderful
bluegrass music groups. More than six thousand people attended the 2006 Cornshucking
Frolic, and the site’s support group sold two hundred gallons of chicken stew and six hun-dred
fried apple pies. Division craftsmen performed temporary repairs on the Hauser
House roof, which is scheduled to be replaced in the spring of 2007.
President James K. Polk’s 211th birthday was celebrated at the President Polk site on
November 4 with a party that included cake, cooking in the kitchen, games on the lawn,
blacksmithing and musketry demonstrations, and dancing. Many visitors came to enjoy the
festivities in Pineville on a beautiful fall day. A new kiosk marker describing the Polks’ life
in southern Mecklenburg County was unveiled during the celebration. The kiosk was
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funded by a grant from the Arts and Science Council of Mecklenburg County. Work will
soon be under way to make major repairs to the cabin and kitchen. These nineteenth-century
structures have not received significant attention since they were moved to the
site in 1967 and 1968. All of the chinking and a number of logs will be replaced, while
others will receive “ dutchman” repairs. Although the work will affect tours that are nor-mally
given inside the buildings, Scott Warren, site manager, and Courtney Hybarger, his-toric
interpreter, are creating a special architectural tour that will be given outside of the
buildings while the repairs are in progress.
Reed Gold Mine has been the site of constant construction over the past several
months. All of the siding has been replaced on the visitor center and museum, and new
windows have been installed in the office areas. Work is currently under way to upgrade
the restrooms to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The new facilities will
be larger and have improved accessibility, and the original front doors have been replaced
with lighter ones that are easier to open. The building is also getting a new roof and
HVAC system. The North Carolina Department of Transportation has been contracted to
rebuild the three site bridges, which are showing signs of decay. The road bridge is no
longer adequate to allow fire protection to the Stamp Mill building. The twenty- fourth
annual Bloody Reign of the Mad Miner program attracted more than six thousand people
to enjoy the haunts of the underground tunnels. The four- night event was a successful
fundraiser for the Gold History Corporation.
News from State History Museums
North Carolina Museum of History
For the eleventh year, the museum commemorated American Indian Heritage Month
with its enormously popular American Indian Heritage Celebration on Saturday, Novem-ber
18. As is customary, the celebration was preceded by a heritage education day for school
groups on Friday. Dozens of school buses transporting nearly twenty- two hundred stu-dents
descended upon downtown Raleigh for the event. Schoolchildren from elementary
grades through high school learned aspects of American Indian history and culture as they
visited teaching stations staffed by members of the eight state- recognized tribes: Coharie,
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Haliwa- Saponi, Lumbee, Meherrin, Occaneechi Band
of Saponi, Sappony, and Waccamaw- Siouan.
On Saturday, activities in the museum, on Bicentennial Plaza, and across the street on
the grounds of the State Capitol engaged a crowd of 6,271. Craftsmen of the museum staff
had created a traditional longhouse on Capitol Square, and members of the Haliwa- Saponi
and Meherrin tribes explained the structure’s ancient history as a multi- family dwelling of
the Eastern Woodland Indians. Representatives of the Occaneechi Band of Saponi burned
a tree trunk to create a dugout canoe. At noon, forty dancers in colorful regalia answered
2 6 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S
the Call to Nations and descended the front steps of the museum into Bicentennial Plaza,
where they performed a variety of dances— traditional, fancy, jingle, grass, and hoop— to
the rhythms of the Southern Sun Drum Group and the Red Wolf Drum Group.
An array of traditional American Indian dishes was available for purchase. Visitors
lunched on Indian tacos, sweet potato fries, turkey legs, ribbon fries, barbeque, and fry
bread. Among the many demonstrations of crafts were several hands- on activities, includ-ing
the opportunity to create a dreamcatcher under the guidance of a Sappony tribe mem-ber.
John Blackfeather Jeffries, an Occaneechi- Saponi craftsman, made hunting weapons,
while Coharie tribe member Pat Richardson crafted unique beadwork, and Joel Queen of
the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians created traditional pottery. Storytellers Gwen
Locklear and Lloyd Arneach enthralled their audiences as they spun tales of Indian lore.
Support for the event was provided by the North Carolina Commission on Indian Affairs
and the North Carolina Museum of History Associates.
At the end of the annual heritage celebration, the museum hosted a special presentation
of “ Spiral of Fire,” the second installment of the new documentary series, Indian Country
Diaries, which aired nationwide on the Public Broadcasting System later in November.
The film explores the challenges faced by the modern- day Eastern Band of Cherokee
Indians, and the ways the tribe has revitalized its culture through a successful mixture of
tourism and community preservation to improve the social, physical, and spiritual health
of the tribe. After the presentation, LeAnne Howe, author and narrator of “ Spiral of Fire,”
joined Joyce Dugan, former chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and Greg
Richardson, director of the North Carolina Commission on Indian Affairs, on a panel to
discuss the film. The descendant of a Choctaw mother and a Cherokee father, Howe is
currently the John and Renee Grisham Writer- in- Residence at the University of Missis-sippi.
She is an associate professor in the American Indian Studies program at the Univer-sity
of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. The program was co- sponsored by UNC- TV,
Wake Forest University, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
The museum played
host this fall to two
traveling exhibits with
a maritime flavor. The
Columbus Code, an
exhibit sponsored by the
Mel Fisher Maritime
Heritage Society of Key
West, Florida, opened
on September 26.
Designed especially for
children and families, the
interactive display lured
participants into the fas-cinating
world of under-water
archaeology
through a virtual treasure
hunt. Six shipwrecks from around the world, one of which contained the treasure, were
illustrated through exhibit settings and artifacts. Clues for solving the mystery were con-tained
among the objects, which included coins, cannon shot, musket barrels, and other
weaponry. Touch screens and field notebooks enhanced the display. Major funding for the
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Museum of History craftsmen constructed this traditional longhouse
of the Eastern Woodland Indians on Capitol Square for the eleventh
annual American Indian Heritage Celebration in November.
exhibit, which closed on January 7, 2007, was provided by the Florida Department of
State, Bureau of Historical Museums.
Artifacts from one of the six shipwrecks referenced in The Columbus Code were featured
in a separate display. The Search for Queen Anne’s Revenge, Blackbeard’s Flagship, a travel-ing
exhibit from the North Carolina Maritime Museum at Beaufort, contained six objects
retrieved during the early stages of recovery of the shipwreck, discovered ten years ago in
Beaufort Inlet. The artifacts included a brass blunderbuss barrel, a lead cannon apron, a
cannonball, a pewter plate, a lead sounding weight, and part of a grindstone. The exhibit,
which closed on January 7, also featured a video with footage of early dives to the wreck-age,
a map of the site, and information about pirates, particularly the infamous Blackbeard.
North Carolina Maritime Museum, Beaufort
The museum has expanded its exhibit of artifacts from the shipwreck in nearby Beaufort
Inlet believed to be the Queen Anne’s Revenge ( QAR), with the addition of two small can-nons.
The guns have been conserved and stabilized at the QAR Conservation Lab in
Greenville and returned to Beaufort for display. Like most of the nine cannons recovered
thus far from the wreckage, both of these were found loaded for firing. A rail or swivel gun
was charged with a one- pound iron shot, with old rope wadding to secure the ball and pow-der
charge and a wooden plug in the muzzle to keep the bore dry. At just under two hun-dred
pounds, it is one of the smallest cannons recovered from the site. A small broadside gun,
cast in 1713, weighed in at 326 pounds. It was loaded with a one- and- a- half- pound ball and
langrage consisting of three broken wrought iron bolts. The exhibit in the museum lobby
also now includes a fully rigged model of the QAR crafted by Frank Gaskill of Kinston.
Staff Notes
In Archives and History administration, Parker Backstrom was hired as an administra-tive
secretary III. Laura B. Ketcham, former historic site manager I at Duke Homestead
State Historic Site, was promoted to associate museum curator in the office of the assistant
to the director of the Division of Historical Resources. Karen Pochala- Peck joined the
same office as an office assistant IV.
In the Archives and Records Section of the Division of Historical Resources, Elizabeth
Preston was promoted from processing assistant IV in the Correspondence Unit of the
Public Services Branch to archivist I in the Local Records Unit of the Government
Records Branch. In the Historic Preservation Office, Linda McRae retired after twenty
years of service as office assistant for the Survey and Planning Branch. Mary Ruffin
Hanbury has joined the Grants Administration and Commission Services Branch as the
new preservation planner, providing support and training for the state’s ninety- eight local
historic preservation commissions and sixty Certified Local Governments. Michele
Patterson was hired as the environmental review clerk and administrative secretary.
In the Division of State Historic Sites and Properties, Bob Remsburg was promoted to
serve full- time as western section chief, relieving him of his joint responsibility as site man-ager
at Reed Gold Mine. Andrew Duppstadt, assistant site manager at the CSS
Neuse/ Richard Caswell Memorial, was promoted to historic sites specialist I. He will serve
as the historic weapons program coordinator for all the sites and have a vital role in the
North Carolina History Bowl. The Thomas Wolfe Memorial has added several new staff
members in recent months, including Christian Dwight, historic interpreter II; Patrick
Willis, historic interpreter III; and Jesse Cox, office assistant III. Rebecca Lewis separated
from Reed Gold Mine as historic site manager I. Joe Miljenovic began work at Fort Fisher
State Historic Site as the fort’s first security guard. At Historic Edenton, Kathy Busby,
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historic interpreter I, retired on December 1. Carolyn A. Owens joined the staff as historic
interpreter III and Blake S. Harmon as maintenance mechanic II. At Historic Bath,
Henry S. Modlin separated as historic site assistant, and was succeeded by Henry E.
Tripp Jr. Loretta Jane Mainquist was hired as program assistant at the State Capitol.
Two employees of the Division of State Historic Sites and Properties were recently rec-ognized
with awards. The Elon Alumni Association honored State Capitol director Ray-mond
L. Beck with its Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award at a ceremony in the
Alumni Center on the Elon campus on November 4. Vina Hutchinson Farmer, an
employee of Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens, was named 2006 McDaniel Lewis
Historian of the Year— East by the North Carolina Society of Historians. She is currently
the grants coordinator and editor for The Palace magazine for Tryon Palace.
In the Division of State History Museums, Howard Draper resigned as education coor-dinator
at the Museum of the Albemarle, and Thomas Spagnol was hired at the Elizabeth
City museum as information and communications specialist. At the North Carolina
Museum of History, Kimberly Gordon- Eaton resigned as chief of the Administrative
Services Section. Betsy Conti was appointed director of development, a position funded
by the North Carolina Museum of History Foundation, Inc. The temporary position held
by Louise Benner, curator of costume and textiles, was made permanent. Jeanne Marie
Warzeski has joined the staff as curator, Kelley McCall as special events coordinator, Audra
Slaymaker and Lauren Ossi as assistant registrars in the Collections Management Section,
and Matt Neal as a carpenter II.
Obituary
Dr. George Brown Tindall, 85, Kenan professor of history emeritus at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a leading authority on the history of the American
South since Reconstruction, died on December 2. Born in Greenville, S. C., in 1921, he
earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Furman University in 1942. He served with
the U. S. Army Air Force in the Pacific theater in World War II, leaving the service with
the rank of second lieutenant in 1946. Tindall received a master’s degree in 1948 and a
doctorate in history in 1951, both from UNC- Chapel Hill. His first book, South Carolina
Negroes, 1877- 1900, was published by the University of South Carolina Press in 1952.
Between 1950 and 1958, he taught successively at East Kentucky State College, the Uni-versity
of Mississippi, the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina ( now
UNC- Greensboro), and Louisiana State University. Tindall joined the faculty at UNC-Chapel
Hill as an associate professor in 1958 and was promoted to full professor six years
later. He was named Kenan professor of history in 1969 and became professor emeritus
upon his retirement in 1990. Tindall is perhaps best remembered for his 1967 book, The
Emergence of the New South, 1877- 1900, volume 11 of the History of the South series pub-lished
by Louisiana State University Press. Tindall also authored The Disruption of the Solid
South ( 1972), The Ethnic Southerners ( 1976), and the textbook, America: A Narrative History
( 1984). He was an editor and major contributor to the massive Encyclopedia of Southern Cul-ture,
published by the University of North Carolina Press in 1989. The year after his
retirement, several of his formal students submitted essays in his honor, which Louisiana
State University Press published as The Adaptable South. He was a member of the American
Historical Association, the Southern Historical Association ( serving as president in 1973),
and the Historical Society of North Carolina. Tindall is survived by his wife, Blossom
McGarrity Tindall of Chapel Hill; son Bruce of San Diego, California; daughter Blair of
Santa Monica, California; and a grandson.
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Upcoming Events
January 10 North Carolina Museum of History: History à la Carte: War
Governor of the South. Joe Mobley, author of a recent biography of
Governor Zebulon B. Vance, discusses Vance’s relationship with Jefferson
Davis, some of his military and administrative decisions, and his stance on
Southern independence. 12: 10 P. M.
January 11 Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens: Parlor Talk: “ New Bern under
Occupation.” Historic interpreter Paul Switzer examines the dynamics
of daily life in wartime New Bern, which was occupied by the Union
army from March 1862 to the end of the war. 12: 00 P. M. in the parlor of
the Commission House.
January 13 Historic Bath State Historic Site: “ A Day of Blood at Wilmington:
The 1898 Race Riot.” Bath native LeRae Umfleet of the Research
Branch, principal researcher and writer of the report of the 1898 Wil-mington
Race Riot Commission, discusses her research, the riot, and its
consequences. 10: 00 A. M. Co- sponsored by the Historic Bath Book Club.
January 14 North Carolina Museum of History: Music of the Carolinas: Clarence
Green. Accompanied by Wayne Martin of the North Carolina Arts
Council, Green sings and plays guitar, banjo, and mandolin as he renders
old- time country music and bluegrass. Co- sponsored by PineCone. 3: 00 P. M.
January 16 North Carolina Maritime Museum, Southport: “ World War II in the
Cape Fear Region.” Dr. Everard Smith lectures in the Southport
Community Building. 7: 00 P. M. Call ( 910) 957- 0003 for information
concerning admission fee.
January 18 Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens: African American Lecture:
“ Civil Rights to Black Power: The 1960s Revisited.” The
Reverend Nelson Johnson reflects upon his involvement in the turbulent
years of the Civil Rights movement and the various manifestations of
African American activism. 7: 00 P. M. in the visitor center auditorium.
January 21 Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens: African American Walking
Tour Presentation. Learn about three hundred years of New Bern’s
African American history through a slide presentation, the cold weather
alternative to the popular walking tour. $ 4.00 for adults, $ 2.00 for students.
2: 00 P. M. in the visitor center auditorium. Reprised on February 18.
January 27 North Carolina Museum of History: Sixth Annual African American
Cultural Celebration. Bluesman John Dee Holeman and the Madison
Clouds of Heaven trombone shout band are among the more than seventy
presenters and exhibitors scheduled to celebrate the states’s African
American heritage with music, dance, storytelling, and craft demonstrations.
11: 00 A. M. to 4: 00 P. M.
January 30 North Carolina Museum of History: American Presidents: Life Portraits.
Opening of traveling exhibit sponsored by C- SPAN that features oil
paintings by North Carolina artist Chas Fagan of all forty- two presidents,
photographs from the White House Historical Association, historic front
pages from newspapers, and biographical sketches of the presidents. The
exhibit will run through April 8.
February 1 Museum of the Albemarle: North Carolina’s Revolutionary War
Navy. Chris Grimes, a member of the Ships Company of the Roanoke
reenactment group, discusses the state’s naval contingent of the Continental
establishment. 7: 00 P. M.
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Upcoming Events
February 3 North Carolina Maritime Museum, Beaufort: The Artistry of Charles
McNeill. The first director of the museum was well known for his
exquisite watercolors of coastal scenes and of his ancestral home in
Scotland. This exhibit of his paintings, gathered from private collections,
will run through May 6.
February 9- 10 Museum of the Albemarle: The Burnside Expedition, 1862: A
Symposium. Two- day conference features lectures by keynote speaker
Richard A. Sauers, Richard A. Lawrence, Christopher Meekins, Matthew
Poteat, and Jim Gaddis. Call ( 252) 335- 1453 for reservations.
February 10 Museum of the Albemarle: Civil War Living History: Remember the
Battle of Elizabeth City. Commemoration of the 144th anniversary of
the battle features naval and artillery reenactments, nineteenth- century
games, and activities for children. 10: 00 A. M. to 4: 00 P. M.
North Carolina Museum of History: The North Carolina Roots of African
American Literature: An Anthology. Editor William L. Andrews discusses
his new book, which contends that the contributions of North Carolinians
to African American literature in the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries surpassed those of all other southern states. A book signing will
follow the program. 3: 00 P. M.
February 11 North Carolina Museum of History: Music of the Carolinas: Charles
“ Wsir” Johnson. The master percussionist explores the rhythms of music
from the Caribbean, Africa, South America, and the southern United
States. Co- sponsored by PineCone. 3: 00 P. M.
February 14 North Carolina Museum of History: History à la Carte: Piedmont
Airlines. Frank Elliott, author of Piedmont: Flight of the Pacemaker, discusses
the origins and early years of Piedmont Airlines of North Carolina.
12: 10 P. M.
February 15 Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens: African American Lecture:
“ And Still I Rise.” Sandi Ruger presents a collection of Black
Renaissance poetry and spirituals that celebrate the universal joy of triumph
of the human spirit over adversity. 7: 00 P. M. in the visitor center auditorium.
February 17 Duke Homestead State Historic Site: Courtship and Marriage in the
Nineteenth Century. Special hour- long presentations by Alison Holcomb,
a student in the Public History program at North Carolina State
University, examine the meaning of marriage, the ideal spouse, and
courtship customs in the 1800s. 11: 00 A. M., 1: 00 P. M., and 3: 00 P. M.
February 17- 18 Brunswick Town/ Fort Anderson: Fort Anderson Living History. Civil
War program features naval interpretations and demonstrations of camp life
and artillery firing. 11: 00 A. M. to 3: 00 P. M.
February 18 Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex: LIVE! At the Arsenal.
Guided tours of the North Carolina Arsenal feature presentation about food
substitutions in the South during the CivilWar. 1: 15, 2: 00, 3: 00, and 4: 00 P. M.
February 20 North Carolina Maritime Museum, Southport: “ History of Wilmington
and the Lower Cape Fear.” Dr. Chris Fonvielle presents the lecture at
the Southport Community Building. 7: 00 P. M. Call ( 910) 957- 0003 for
information concerning admission fees.
February 22 Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens: Parlor Talk: “ A Birthday Bill
of Fare.” Shirley Willis, domestic skills manager at Tryon Palace, discusses
the local foods that would have been served for George Washington during
his visit to New Bern in 1791. 12: 00 P. M. in the parlor of the Commission
House.
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Upcoming Events
February 23 North Carolina Maritime Museum, Beaufort: Beaufort Walk. Walking
tour highlights the town’s natural and historic features. 12: 00 to 2: 00 P. M.
$ 5.00 fee. Call ( 252) 728- 7317 to register.
Roanoke Island Festival Park: Freedmen’s Colony Celebration
Concert. Blues and jazz artists Mathew Walsh and “ Cool” John Ferguson
perform in the Film Theater. 8: 00 P. M.
February 25 Roanoke Island Festival Park: Samputu & Ingeli. The 2003 Kora
Award- winner Jean Paul Samputu returns with his dance troupe to perform
traditional songs, dance, and drumming of Rwanda. 2: 00 and 8: 00 P. M.
March 1 Museum of the Albemarle: Albemarle Historic Roundtable. Grant
Ambrose, historic interpreter at Somerset Place State Historic Site,
discusses the life and times of James Johnston Pettigrew. 7: 00 P. M.
March 3- 4 Fort Dobbs State Historic Site: Scouting the Frontier. Reenactors
portray the Frontier Company, who selected the site for the fort in the
spring of 1756. The company encamps, drills, and prepares to lay out Fort
Dobbs. Saturday, 10: 00 A. M. to 4: 00 P. M., Sunday, 12: 00 to 4: 00 P. M.
Roanoke Island Festival Park: Roanoke Island 1862: A Civil War
Living History Weekend. The seventh annual festival commemorates
the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Roanoke Island with many
interactive opportunities for children and adults, including a recruiting
station, woodworking and blacksmithing demonstrations, a living history
encampment, gun drills, lectures, games of capture the flag, and a display
of nineteenth- century toys. Saturday, 10: 00 A. M. to 5: 00 P. M., Sunday,
10: 00 A. M. to 3: 00 P. M.
March 4 Roanoke Island Festival Park: Tenth Annual Priceless Pieces Past &
Present Quilt Extravaganza. Opening reception for the popular
community- wide celebration of the art of quilting, featuring an exhibit of
one hundred quilts, both heirlooms and new creations, demonstrations,
and educational displays. 2: 00 to 4: 00 P. M. The exhibit and special events
will continue through March 27.
March 8 Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens: Parlor Talk: “ Is Your
Furniture Just like Granny— Old but Well Cared For?”
Conservator Dave Taylor discusses the woods and finishes of heirloom
furniture and the proper techniques for cleaning older pieces. 12: 00 P. M. in
the parlor of the Commission House.
March 10 State Capitol: History Happens Here. In the Senate Chamber, Justice
Patricia Timmons- Goodson, the first African American woman to serve
on the North Carolina Supreme Court, recounts her experiences as an
attorney, prosecutor, and judge. 2: 00 P. M.
March 11 North Carolina Museum of History: Music of the Carolinas: Julee
Glaub. The North Carolina musician presents ballads of Ireland and
Appalachia, playing guitar, flute, and bodhran ( an Irish drum).
Co- sponsored by PineCone. 3: 00 P. M.
March 13 North Carolina Museum of History: What We Wore in North Carolina.
Reopening of exhibit with a new selection of clothing from the museum's
collection, many items on display for the first time. The exhibit will run
through October 7.
March 14 North Carolina Museum of History: History à la Carte: Looking for
Longleaf. Lawrence S. Earley discusses his new book, which explores the
depletion by mismanagement of North Carolina’s native longleaf pine
forests, once the world’s greatest source of naval stores. 12: 10 P. M.
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Upcoming Events
March 16- 17 Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens: Thirty- ninth Annual Tryon
Palace Decorative Arts Symposium. “ The Art of Embellishment” is
the theme for the popular weekend event, co- sponsored by the University
of North Carolina at Greensboro. Fee charged. For further information,
call Karen O’Connell at ( 252) 514- 4933.
March 17 North Carolina Museum of History: Bustles, Bloomers, and Naked
Elbows: Women’s Fashions in the Nineteenth Century. Colleen
Callahan, curator emeritus of costume and textiles at the Valentine
Richmond History Center, examines the changing styles and social
implications of women’s fashions in the 1800s. 3: 00 P. M. Registration
required; call ( 919) 807- 7968 by March 12.
March 17- 18 Bentonville Battlefield: Artillery through the Ages. The evolution of
artillery from the fifteenth century to the American Civil War will be the
focus of programming during the commemoration of the 142nd
anniversary of the Battle of Bentonville. 10: 00 A. M. to 4: 00 P. M.
March 18 Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens: African American Historic
Downtown Walking Tour. The tour of New Bern’s historic district
covers sixteen blocks and lasts approximately ninety minutes. 2: 00 P. M. Fee
$ 4.00 adults, $ 2.00 students. Call ( 252) 514- 4900 for reservations.
March 20 North Carolina Maritime Museum, Southport: “ Confederate Dreams
and British Shipbuilders.” Dr. Max Williams lectures at the Southport
Community Building. 7: 00 P. M. Call ( 910) 957- 0003 for information
concerning admission fees.
March 22 Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex: Arsenal Roundtable: No
Such Army since the Days of Julius Caesar. Co- author Wade Sokolosky
discusses his book on William T. Sherman’s Carolinas Campaign. A book
signing will follow the program. 7: 00 P. M.
March 29 North Carolina Maritime Museum, Southport: Spring into History.
Brenda Mashburn leads a guided tour of Orton Plantation. 10: 00 A. M. to
12: 00 P. M. Call ( 910) 457- 0003 for reservations and rates.
March 30 Museum of the Albemarle: A Student’s Day on the River. Annual
event features educational presentations about the maritime history of
the Albemarle region, designed for third through fifth grade students.
10: 00 A. M. to 3: 00 P. M. Registration required; call ( 252) 335- 1453 for
further information.
March 31 Horne Creek Living Historical Farm: Before Easter Baskets, There
Were Rabbits’ Nests. Children learn to construct a nineteenth- century
rabbit’s nest, dye eggs with natural dyes, and participate in egg rolling and
Easter egg hunts. 11: 00 A. M. to 3: 00 P. M.
State Capitol: State Capitol Photo Contest. Judging of photographs
illustrating the theme, “ History Happens Here.” Photos must have been
taken by amateur photographers within North Carolina during the past
calendar year to be eligible. Deadline for entries is March 23 at 5: 00 P. M.
All entries will be displayed in the Capitol until April 27. For further details
and a complete set of rules, visit www. ncstatecapitol. org.
April 1 Roanoke Island Festival Park: Dare County High Schools Art Show.
Opening reception for annual month- long display of student artwork in a
variety of media, including photography, paintings, sculpture, and pottery.
4: 00 to 6: 00 P. M. The exhibit will run through April 27.
April 5 North Carolina Maritime Museum, Southport: Spring into History. Jack
Fryar examines the colonial history of the Cape Fear Region. 10: 00 A. M. to
12: 00 P. M. Call ( 910) 457- 0003 for reservations and rates.
Colleges and Universities
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Dr. John David Smith, the Charles H. Stone Distinguished Professor of American His-tory,
received the Richard H. Collins Award from the Kentucky Historical Society in
November. The award, named for one of the pioneers of Kentucky historiography, is
presented annually to the author of the most outstanding article in The Register of the Ken-tucky
Historical Society, one of the oldest historical journals in the country. Smith’s article,
“ ‘ To hue the line and let the chips fall where they may’: J. Winston Coleman’s Slavery
Times in Kentucky Reconsidered,” appeared in the autumn 2005 issue of The Register. He
previously won the award, which includes a plaque and a cash prize of $ 1,000, in 1988.
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Last spring, Dr. Robert W. Brown received the University of North Carolina Board of
Governors Award for Teaching Excellence, while Dr. Charles Beem and Dr. Jeff Freder-ick
were among the winners of the university’s awards for excellence. Dr. Stephen Berry
received a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship for the 2006- 2007 aca-demic
year. On June 30, Dr. Manuel Conley was named professor emeritus, and Dr. Julie
Smith resigned. There were four additions to the history faculty, effective August 15:
Dr. Louis Kyriakoudes was appointed associate professor; Dr. Jeffrey Lucas and Dr. Rose
Stremlau were named assistant professors; and Anthony Johnson was appointed lecturer.
Dr. Mark Thompson was granted faculty leave for the fall 2006 semester.
Wake Forest University
In October, Dr. J. Edwin Hendricks received the Archie K. Davis Award, presented by
the Wachovia Historical Society to honor significant contributions to regional and cultural
history, and was elected vice- president of the Historical Society of North Carolina. He
will be on a Reynolds Research sabbatical in the spring of 2007 to research and write a
one- volume history of the university.
State, County, and Local Groups
Greensboro Historical Museum
On October 7, the museum unveiled its new three- thousand- square- foot permanent
exhibit, Welcome to the Gate City! The interactive display illustrates the dynamic decades
around the turn of the twentieth century when Greensboro was transformed from a sleepy
southern town into a bustling city of the New South. The exhibit features re- creations of
Hotel Clegg, which prospered in the late 1890s in its prime location across the street from
the new Southern Railway Company passenger depot; the Richardson and Fariss Drug-store,
notable as the original dispensary of Vick’s Family Remedies; Miss Lina Porter’s
one- room schoolhouse, where her nephew William Sydney Porter received the bulk of
his formal education; the Crystal Theatre, the first motion picture theater in Greensboro; a
telephone exchange; and a fire house. Major funding for the exhibit was provided by the
Cemala Foundation, and the Estates of Reed and Martha DeVane and Marion Stedman
Covington. Malone Design/ Fabrication of Georgia collaborated with museum staff
members to design the display.
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Lower Cape Fear Historical Society
The society marked its fiftieth anniversary on November 1 with a festive dinner in the
Warwick Center at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Excerpts from con-gratulatory
letters from Senators Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr, Gov. Mike Easley, and
State Senator Julia Boseman were printed in the program. Dr. Alan Watson, vice- chair of
the North Carolina Historical Commission and former member of the society’s board,
delivered greetings from the State and wishes for continued success. Current board mem-ber
Marjorie Way presented John Golden, president of the society, the Albert Ray
Newsome Award that she had accepted on its behalf from the Federation of North
Carolina Historical Societies on October 27.
North Caroliniana Society
The society has added two titles to its ongoing publication series, North Caroliniana Soci-ety
Imprints. Volume 39 is a softbound facsimile of Needham Bryan Cobb’s classic, Political
Geography of North Carolina, first published in 1887 by Riverside Press, Cambridge. For
several decades, the little volume of poems was used as a textbook in North Carolina pub-lic
schools, and this reprint edition includes an article by W. H. Jones describing the
book’s influence upon generations of schoolchildren. The limited edition of four hundred
numbered copies retains the illustrations and unorthodox pagination of the original. Betty
Ray McCain’s remarks upon her acceptance of the North Caroliniana Society Award in
April 2006, together with tributes from several friends, family members, and colleagues,
have been published as The Goodliest Land, volume 40 of the imprint series. The former
secretary of the Department of Cultural Resources, known as North Carolina’s “ cultural
ambassador,” discusses the development of her lifelong interest in state history and culture
from her childhood in Faison. The five hundred numbered copies of this limited edition
are signed by Betty McCain. Each of these new volumes in the imprint series is available
for a $ 25.00 contribution to the nonprofit society. To order, write to the North
Caroliniana Society, UNC Campus Box 3930, Chapel Hill, NC 27514- 3930.
Phoenix Society for African American Research, Inc.
“ An Evening with Dr. Peter M. Ascoli” was presented on July 18 in the Keihin Audi-torium
Atrium at Edgecombe Community College in Tarboro. The event was co-sponsored
by the Phoenix Society for African American Research, Inc., and the Sankofa
Center of Wake Forest. Dr. Ascoli, a grandson of Julius Rosenwald, spoke from his
recently published book about his grandfather’s life and contributions to African American
education in the South. After the presentation, Dr. Ascoli met with numerous former
Rosenwald students and teachers from nineteen eastern North Carolina counties, where
there were a large number of Rosenwald schools. In Edgecombe County alone,
twenty- six Rosenwald schools were constructed between 1921 and 1926, beginning with
White’s Chapel in Speed. Today there are only three surviving Rosenwald structures in
the county: Mount Olive, Dogtown School, and Coakley School.
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Historical Publications Section
Office of Archives and History
4622 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699- 4622
Telephone ( 919) 733- 7442
Fax ( 919) 733- 1439
www. ncpublications. com
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Permit No. 187
Carolina Comments Jeffrey J. Crow, Editor in Chief
( ISSN 0576- 808X) Kenrick N. Simpson, Editor